“Sri Lanka continues to be a growing market, and we are excited to work with Sinolanka on this iconic project in Colombo,” Ratnesh Verma, Senior Vice President – Real Estate and Development, Asia Pacific for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts said in a statement.

“Establishing our brand’s presence in key gateway cities like Colombo is an integral part of our strategy to drive preference for the Hyatt brand in the South Asian region.

“We believe the hotel’s excellent location and full range of services and dining options will meet the needs of both business and leisure travelers.”

The building is one of the entities taken over by a controversial expropriation law, enacted last year, when its construction was halted due to collapse of a business group.

The building is now expected to open in 2014.

“We are pleased to work with Hyatt on the first Hyatt-branded hotel in Sri Lanka,” Gamini Senarath, chairman of Sinolanka Hotels and Spa Private Limited was quoted as saying in the statement.

“Hyatt Regency Colombo is expected to be a flagship development for Sri Lanka, demonstrating the rapidly expanding opportunities in this country’s tourism sector.”

Sri Lanka has seen a tourism boom with the end of a 30-year civil war in 2009. In 2012 around a million tourists are expected to visit the Indian Ocean island.

Source: http://www.lankabusinessonline.com