Fantasy Island, a family entertainment center featuring a 40m Ferris wheel to be developed at Waters Edge in Battaramulla, will be opened to the public in 2020, having secured the necessary FDI yesterday (17). Fantasy Island (Private) Limited and the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) signed the agreement for the investment yesterday (July 17^th), the BOI announced today. The company said it aims to make this Colombo’s premier family entertainment center and in addition to the 40m Ferris wheel, it will feature an indoor snow experience and a big waterplay-area including waterslides. With brand new equipment exclusively from European suppliers, the park will provide plenty of fun and educational activities while ensuring highest quality and safety standards. The Melchers Group, active in Sri Lanka for over 35 years, combines local expertise with international entertainment experience for development and operations. “In phase 1, the investment of more than US$4 million will bring inclusive attractions for the entire family which are truly unique to Sri Lanka. Fantasy Island will create over 60 employment and career development opportunities for the community”, explains Mr. Michael Perera, Chairman of CMC Engineering Export, the Sri Lankan office of the Melchers Group. Says Alexander Melchers, Managing Director of the Melchers Group in South-East Asia and founding investor: “We believe in the local and international tourism industry of Sri Lanka. I am very confident in the business outlook in Sri Lanka. We represent German, Singaporean, and Swiss investors who believe in the long term potential of Sri Lanka. We are very impressed with the support of the BOI in the process to set up the investment companies”. The project developer and operator expects to do ground breaking within two to three months and the total development time is expected to be around 12 months. “Sri Lanka has made great progress to build hotels and infrastructure. Now, Fantasy Island is the beginning of the next development phase of the tourism industry. We will provide a purpose-built, state-of-the-art family entertainment attraction to cater for international and local tourists and residents”, Mr. Melchers adds.