Australian gambling mogul James Packer is facing yet another hurdle delaying his plans to open up a casino resort in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. While the resort was initially approved in April 2014, the local government has recently stated that the project will be delayed due to ‘legal issues’ that have yet to be revealed. It has been a long road for James Packer, worked hard to get the approval of Sri Lankan politicians.
Although the plan was approved in April this year, Packer has been negotiating with legislators since 2013. The deal first hit obstacles when religious leaders and other political parties weighed in to express their opposition for the casino. At first, Packer was only permitted to build a resort without a casino. Then, President Mahinda Rajapaksa reconsidered, stating that Packer could only build a casino using a license from a local partner.
Eventually, the deal was allowed to go ahead, but even more issues have been raised. This week, Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena told Reuters that the government must work out some legal issues on its end of the deal. While it sounds quite important, he did not go into any further details.
"There are some legal issues from our side once they paid the necessary fees for the land," he said. "We have informed them to start the construction they have also some issues. It will take another two three months (to start)." Yapa estimates that construction will start in November 2014 at the latest. However, industry experts believe that the delay may last until January 2015, when the next presidential election will take place in Sri Lanka.
It seems like everything is up in there air at the moment, and we’re not entirely sure when the new resort will be open – let alone, when construction will begin.
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