AKDA Engineering Group Sri Lanka which designed the world’s first underwater night club, spa and wine cellar has also completed building the world’s largest underwater restaurant with a glass tunnel.Eng. A K Diyabalanage, Chairman, Managing Director AKDA said that all these innovation were ‘not copies’ but original engineering marvels from Sri Lanka. He said that it took Colombo Dockyard five months to build this restaurant which is 22.5 meters long and weighs about 220 tons. The total investment is around US$ 1.5 million.

The state of the art under water restaurants could accommodate nearly 30 people and would be delivered to Uthuru Maafara Luxury Hotel island owned by Akbar Brothers in the Maldives next Monday, by sea. The underwater restaurant would have two lifts to carry guest and will also offer 180 degrees of underwater sea view. It would be placed six meters below sea level.

Diyabalanage said that this is the fifth underwater leisure sector project they have completed and delivered to the Maldives hotels. “We are now looking at accepting bigger orders from all over the world including buyers from Europe to help Sri Lanka to get more foreign exchange.

“We started this enterprise in 1985 as a local construction company specializing as an offshore contractor and a craft builder. Over the years we’ve diversified into many and varied disciplines because of our manifold forte in agriculture; plantation and realty; designers, consultants and contractors.”

“AKDA Group comprises of AKDA Engineering Lanka (Private) Limited specializing in steel buildings, tank farms, water purification plants and products manufacturing equipment: AKDA Engineers International (Private) Limited was established for the designing and construction of roads, airports, harbours, shipyards, craft building, on shore and off shore hotels. “We have also built the futuristic Air Traffic Control Tower in Male International Airport, Republic of Maldives largest Harbour, Dharavandhoo Domestic Airport in Maldives. In addition we have so far constructed 36 harbours and 8 airports and this is our 6th underwater facility project. These projects have helped Sri Lanka to earn over US$1 billion so far.”