Wednesday, 4 December 2013 00:00
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The Government yesterday denied moves to establish new casinos and insisted that it was merely a proposal by a company with no discussions being held on implementation.
Parrying with a multitude of questions from the media, Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene stated the Katana casino city was proposed by a Singaporean company and was never considered by the BOI. In 2011 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to do a feasibility study and the proposal never moved forward from there, he told media.
“It is unlikely that the casino documents will be presented before Cabinet before the end of the year. We are still formulating it,” he added.
The Minister also battled for the Krrish deal, emphasising that even though the full payments had taken nearly a year more than scheduled, it was “not causing any loss to us” as a 12% interest was being charged for delayed payments.
The $ 449 million project has only paid $ 38 million, according to data released from the BOI. The Urban Development Authority (UDA) which owns the land has also not transferred it to the BOI since Krrish payments are not completed.
Other projects under the Strategic Development Act including Crown Casino and local tycoon Dhammika Perera’s Queensbury are also pending approval. Eight such projects amount to US$ 3.9 billion.
