Wafi Group has signed a $140 million (Dh513.8 million) finance agreement with the National Bank of Dubai for the construction of the 240-room Raffles Dubai hotel at Wafi City, development representatives said.
Ian Wiedersheim, managing director of Wafi Group, a Dubai-based conglomerate, and Abdul Shakoor Tahlak, chief executive of National Bank of Dubai's (NBD) International Affairs division signed a 14-year finance agreement for the hotel's construction on April 20.
The finance covers the entire development of the project from civil engineering to construction, interiors and completion.
Singapore-based hotel chain Raffles International Ltd (RIL) also simultaneously signed a management contract with Wafi Group to operate the hotel. This marks the Far Eastern hotel chain's entry into the Middle East.
Designed by Dubai-based architects Arif and Bintoak, the hotel will be constructed by Khansaheb Civil Engineering, a firm that has operated in the UAE market since 1935.
Site excavation for the project, scheduled for completion in 2007, has begun. Project managers Arif and Bintoak are currently awarding various phases of the development to sub-contractors.
Conceived in a signature pyramid shape, the 101-metre tall Raffles Dubai will be a prominent landmark.
Its 240 rooms include 188 guestrooms, each 60 square metres in size about 33 per cent larger than standard rooms. The hotel will have 52 suites, nine food and beverage outlets, seven meeting rooms and a spa.
The hotel complex will also house 242,000 square feet of retail space on two floors consisting of 91 shops and a large department store.
The complex will include parking sufficient for 1,000 vehicles.
Wafi City is developed and managed by MKM Commercial Holdings, owned by Shaikh Mana Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum.
RIL is owned by Singapore-based Capitaland, one of the largest listed property companies in Asia, with international operations in 29 territories. RIL last week secured a management contract for a hotel in Beijing.
Maiden entry
Facility to be constructed by Khansaheb
- The finance covers the entire development of the project from civil engineering to construction, interiors and completion.
- The facility marks the Far Eastern hotel chain's entry into the Mideast
- Designed by Dubai-based architects Arif and Bintoak, the hotel will be constructed by Khansaheb Civil Engineering.
- The hotel will have 52 suites, nine food and beverage outlets, seven meeting rooms and a spa.
© Gulf News 2005
