Nawaloka in danger: Business moguls line up to buy hospital

The Nawaloka Hospital is in danger of collapsing due to obtaining loans amounting to nearly 2.3 billion rupees from five local banks in Sri Lanka, it is learnt.

Accordingly, the hospital has to pay Rs.335 million as its monthly loan installment.

The hospital has obtained loans from the Hatton National Bank, People’s Bank, Bank of Ceylon, DFCC Bank and the Commercial Bank.

If the hospital collapses without being able to pay debts, experts in the health sector said that it will have a negative impact on the health sector.

The Nawaloka Hospital has a large treatment capacity of about 800 beds and there is no other private hospital with such a large capacity.

Health sector sources said that the Asiri Hospital can treat only 650 in-house patients.

However, the Hatton National Bank had issued notices for the auction of the land in Colombo 02 where the Nawaloka Hospital is located.

The Dharmadasa family headed by Jayantha Dharmadasa owns the majority of shares in Nawaloka Hospital.

The list of its shareholders and directors is given below.

Meanwhile, sources in the business sector said that the only way out of the current debt situation is for the hospital to sell more shares.

Meanwhile, it was reported that prominent businessmen Harry Jayawardena, Ishara Nanayakkara, Dhammika Perera and Ashok Pathirage had shown interest in buying more shares of the hospital.

Sources said that these businessmen own a large amount of shares in several banks from which the Nawaloka Hospital has taken loans and this will place the hospital at a great risk in the future.