Govt to reclaim idling land allocated for tourism investment in Pasikudah

Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that the original plan of the Pasikudah Tourist Zone will be updated in three months.

“If the investors do not utilize the lands that were earlier allotted for the construction of hotels in this zone their lands will be reclaimed by the government and given over to new investors who are keen to enter the region and invest.”

Pasikudah beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and this asset was discovered and developed as a major 156-acre tourism zone by the then Minister of Tourism and Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa around a decade ago. Subsequently, 12 new star class hotels owned by both locals and foreigners were built during this period.

“With the change of government development in the zone slowed down and today we are taking steps to redevelop the Pasikudah tourist area again.’’ The Minister also instructed the Tourism Promotion Authority to include the Pasikudah zone in their future ‘destination promotions’ as this was not done before.

Hoteliers in the area who met the Minister at Malu Malu Hotel pointed out that when foreign tourists visit the Pasikudah tourist area they face transportation difficulties and this was a major setback to attract tourists.

Addressing this issue Ranatunga said that the Batticaloa domestic airport is being developed targeting the tourism traffic from areas of Pasikudah and Arugambay.