Casino ban fails to deter John Keells' Sri Lanka mixed-development project

Colombo

A BAN on casinos by Sri Lanka's new government isn't stopping the nation's biggest conglomerate from pressing ahead with a US$850 million development project as the island rebuilds from a 30-year civil war.

Lenders are fully committed to John Keells Holdings plc's Waterfront Properties mixed-development project in Colombo though the absence of a casino may take some sheen off it and dent revenue, chairman Susantha Ratnayake said.

The Colombo-based group, which is into banking to property and port terminals, is expanding its leisure business to tap rising demand as the US$67 billion economy rebounds after the war ended in 2009. The project, which envisages malls, commercial and residential space and convention halls, will drive the next phase of growth for John…