Nepal billionaire’s Zinc Journey brand launched in Sri Lanka

From left: Sunshine Group Managing Director Vish Govindasamy, Galle Face Hotel Group Chairman Sanjay Gardiner, CG Corp Lanka Chairman Tilak de Zoysa and Jetwing Group Chairman Hiran Cooray launching Zinc Journey
PIC BY: Indraratne Balasuriya

By Chandeepa Wettasinghe
Nepal’s only billionaire Binod Chaudhary’s CG Group launched the ambitious Zinc Journey brand in Sri Lanka yesterday in partnership with several local leading hospitality companies.

“The investment is well over Rs.1 billion. We will focus on luxury experience-based services,” CG Corp Sri Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd Chairman Tilak de Zoysa said.

He said that the Zinc Journey service will focus on a round tour service to Zinc Journey and affiliated company hotels.

“There are some areas where we don’t have properties, where we are agreeing to team up with companies like Aitken Spence and Jetwing,” he said.

Zinc Journey will have its brand name imparted on a host of old properties, which have been refurbished into boutique hotels.

Three bungalows owned by Watawala Plantations PLC in the hill country have been named as ‘Zinc Journey Mandira’ and 11 former Ceylon Hotels Corporation (CHC) rest houses have had the Zinc Journey name prefixed to their locations.

“We purchased a 50 percent stake in 11 rest houses out of CHC’s 20-odd portfolio by investing Rs.600 million,” de Zoysa said.

He added that additional investments into refurbishments were also significant, with Sigiriya Rest House requiring Rs.140 million for upgrades.

The Zinc Journey Mandira will become operational first, followed by refurbished rest houses in Sigiriya, Ella, Beligama and Kitulgala.

Zinc Journey will also manage Arika Hotel in Dambulla.

“Our main focus market will be Europe,” de Zoysa said.

He added that CG Group will continue to invest heavily in Sri Lanka.

Chaudhary is no stranger to Sri Lanka. He has a 30 percent stake in Taj Samudra Colombo and a 50 percent stakes in Jetwing Sea and Jetwing Vil Uyana during the height of the war.

Jetwing Group Chairman Hiran Cooray said he was grateful of the investments.

“This was a time when the end of the war was not in sight and no one was willing to invest in us. He bought the Vil Uyana shares for a price with which you can’t buy a house in Colombo for now,” he said.

Jetwing Vil Uyana is now regarded as one of the leading eco-based resorts in the world. 

CG Group is responsible for seven hospitality brands spread across 74 hotels with a 5,400 room inventory across the world. 

CG Group dusts off cement factory plan 

CG Group is also clearing the dust off its old plan to build a US $ 200 million, 600,000 tonne cement factory in Sri Lanka.

“We’ve had this plan for the past four years. Sri Lanka imports around US $ 400 million of cement a year,” de Zoysa said.

However, he said that the importing community had raised enough obstacles in the past to discontinue the project.

“Now we feel the time is right,” he added.

De Zoysa said that the investment for the cement factory would be US $ 200 million and it could also save the import bill annually by the same amount.

He said that the company is still looking and negotiating for land to construct the factory in and added that it would be located in one of the Northern districts.