The Vella Group, operator of the 98 Acres Resort & Spa in Ella, has signed a USD 5.1 million investment agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) to fund a three-year expansion of its hilltop tea-estate property.
The project will be carried out in two phases and will add 11 new luxury villas and 32 deluxe rooms, a new restaurant and kitchen and an upgraded yoga wellness centre — taking the resort beyond its current 46-chalet footprint. Select new villas will feature private heated pools as part of a positioning shift toward higher-end visitors, the Group said. The expansion is expected to create around 150 direct jobs in Uva Province.
The 98 Acres expansion is the Vella Group’s second BOI venture, following its earlier Ravana Pool Club in Ella. The resort, sited on a colonial-era tea estate, has been built using recycled materials and eco-friendly construction methods, and the Group said the new facilities will continue under the same sustainable building practices.
BOI said the project would deliver wider economic benefits to the Uva region through direct hiring during the construction and operation phases. The investment lands as Ella continues to consolidate its position as one of Sri Lanka’s most-visited highland destinations — drawing international travellers for its mountain climate, the Nine Arch Bridge and Little Adam’s Peak — and as industry watchers compare the country’s higher-end inventory with regional luxury-mountain offerings.
The agreement follows the BOI’s recently launched “Ready to Invest” platform listing 30 priority projects and the eight-sector investment-feasibility study published in May as the agency pushes a fresh wave of mid-cap inbound investment.
Source: Vella Group signs USD 5.1 Mn BOI agreement for 98 Acres expansion — Newswire.
