Melco Resorts has been awarded a 20-year casino license to operate City of Dreams Sri Lanka, in the country’s capital of Colombo.
The Macau-based gaming operator is rebranding the former ‘Cinnamon Life Integrated Resort’ into City of Dreams Sri Lanka, the ‘first integrated resort in Sri Lanka and South Asia’, which the group expects to ‘revolutionize luxury hospitality, entertainment, and leisure’ in the nation.
Melco will be managing the top five floors of the hotel under its ‘Nuwa’ brand, some 113 of the total 800 rooms in the property.
Meanwhile, the group has also been engaged to ‘operate the gaming area at City of Dreams Sri Lanka’.
The casino investment is expected to be about $125 million and is expected to commence operations ‘mid-2025’. The overall integrated resort, valued at more than $1 billion is ‘expected to commence operations in the third quarter of 2024’.
Melco Resorts & Entertainment has partnered with John Keells Holdings for the project, with the developer continuing to operate some 687 hotel rooms in the property.
The company also notes that ‘there is potential for further expansion of gaming facilities, subject to performance and market conditions’.
Speaking of the development, Melco’s Chairman and CEO, Lawrence Ho, noted that “City of Dreams Sri Lanka is expected to serve as a catalyst for stimulating tourism demand and promoting economic growth in Sri Lanka, drawing inspiration from the successful examples set by similar integrated resorts in other jurisdictions”.
