Govt takes over Hilton

The government took over stakes in the Hilton, Colombo’s landmark hotel as the owners had failed to pay the lease and the agreement lapsed, last week.

The acquisition was announced by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa at a debate on the extension of the Emergency in Parliament last week.

The Minister said that the owners of the hotel had paid only two months lease fees to the government since its inception. An official of the hotel said that an announcement about the move will be made to the Colombo Stock Exchange and declined to comment further.

“The hotel will make an official announcement to the Colombo Stock Exchange”, he said.

Officials of the Ministry of Tourism declined to comment as it was a confidential matter.

Minister Rajapaksa said the policy of the government is to obtain the highest price for land in Sri Lanka from foreign investors.

“Land for the Twin Towers and the Havelock City was given without charging a cent. The policy of the UNP was to give land far below its market value”, he said.

Hilton Colombo with a walkway to the World Trade Centre is located in the heart of the city overlooking the Indian Ocean and the Beira Lake.