City of Dreams Sri Lanka – a casino-resort in Colombo by Macao casino operator, Melco Resorts & Entertainment – will be fully open during the third quarter of this year. That’s according to comments made earlier this week by Krishan Balendra, the chairman of John Keells Holdings, a Sri Lankan real estate firm partnering with Melco on the project.
Balendra said work on the casino and 113-room Nuwa hotel was “progressing well,” adding they were “expected to be operational along with the retail mall in the third quarter of calendar year 2025.” The comments further narrow down the full opening date of the casino-resort, which Melco chairman, Lawrence Ho, said last November would be during the “second half of 2025.”
Balendra added that the project had the potential to be “a transformative development in South Asia,” benefiting Sri Lanka’s tourism, labour force and foreign exchange earnings.
[See more: Casino operator Melco has opened a new office in Bangkok]
The real estate firm chairman said that the resort’s 687-room Cinnamon Life hotel, as well as restaurants and banquet facilities, already opened their doors last October.
As part of the development, the Sri Lankan authorities have granted Melco a 20-year gaming license, with the Macao firm making an initial investment of around US$125 million to establish casino facilities.
Melco operates a number of other properties, including City of Dreams resorts in Macao, Manila and Cyprus. With the imminent liberalisation of Thailand’s gaming industry, Melco is also looking to establish a presence in the kingdom and has opened an office in Bangkok.
