SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Singapore-listed theme park developer and operator Sim Leisure Group on Tuesday (Feb 5) announced it will bring its theme parks to Sri Lanka, under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with Sri Lanka-listed Elpitiya Plantations.

Elpitiya is an associate company of Sri Lanka-listed bluechip conglomerate Aitken Spence.

Under the MOU, Elpitiya intends to sublease a piece of land for the project while Sim Leisure will develop and operate theme parks under its Escape brand.

Sim Leisure aims to start construction in March this year, having received preliminary approval for it.

Both parties expect to sign the definitive agreement for the deal later this month. This will include the entry into a joint venture (JV) partnership, whereby Sim Leisure and Elpitiya are to become the JV partners of Venture Valley, a special purpose company incorporated for the project.

The new Escape theme parks will be located halfway between Colombo city and the main beach resort of Galle, a city on the south-west coast of Sri Lanka.

Sim Choo Kheng, chief executive officer of Sim Leisure, said: "The country's unpolluted coastline and beaches bring tourists from all over the world and its tourism industry is growing at an incredible pace. Furthermore, the cost of doing business in Sri Lanka is relatively low."

The Penang-based group is also planning to expand to China and other South-east Asian cities.

Sim Leisure owns and operates the Escape outdoor adventure and water theme parks in Malaysia. It has also completed projects such as the thematic design of certain zones at Universal Studios Singapore, and the fitting out of all facilities at a large indoor water park in Bahrain.

It debuted on Catalist in March 2019 with an opening price that was 22.7 per cent lower than its initial public offering price.

Shares of Sim Leisure rose 0.5 cent or 2.3 per cent to close at $0.22 on Tuesday, before the announcement.