July 23, Colombo (LNW): National People’s Power (NPP) anti-corruption activist Wasantha Samarasinghe claimed the government is attempting to sell the Hilton Hotel in Colombo at a price far below its original valuation.
Initially valued at $124 million, the hotel is now appraised at $55.5 million, a significant decline in just one year, Samarasinghe asserted.
The former MP questioned what it appeared to be a significant drop of the Rupee rate in the alleged sale, considering the recent trend of appreciation of the LKR against the US Dollar.
“How did this figure come down so drastically? One year ago the dollar was Rs. 330 against the rupee. Today, it’s Rs. 310. So how can the value of the rupee come down by 50 to 60%?” Samarasinghe questioned.
The current selling price is even lower, set at $41.5 million, risking The Hilton Colombo, with 300 rooms on seven acres of prime property, of being sold at this undervalued price, he alleged.
Samarasinghe accused members of the President’s office, including Senior Advisor to the President Sagala Ratnayake and other senior officials, of facilitating what he described as “massive corruption.”
He also claimed the hotel is being sold to a company with a history of tax evasion and fraud.
Last week, the government announced that Melwa Hotels & Resorts (Pvt) Ltd was the sole prequalified bidder for the divestiture of shares held by the Government of Sri Lanka in Hotel Developers (Lanka) Ltd (HDL), the owning company of the Hilton Colombo.
According to the State-Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit, the Ministry of Finance called for an Expression of Interest (EoI) in October 2023 for the divestiture of the government’s shares in HDL.
Nine responses were received, and after evaluation by the Cabinet-appointed Special Project Committee (SPC) and the Special Cabinet-Appointed Negotiating Committee (SpCANC), four bidders were prequalified for the Request for Proposal (RfP) stage.
