Construction of the Dh3.67 billion, 2,000-room hotel and resort Atlantis, The Palm is expected to begin later this year, which will be opened for tourists in 2007, said Howard 'Butch' Kerzner, chief executive of Kerzner International, which has equal partnership in the project.
Kerzner International and Nakheel Atlantis, The Palm, which is to become one of the most sought after leisure destinations in Dubai in future.
Nakheel and Kerzner International will have equal shares in the venture. The first phase is expected to entail investments of $650 million, and will see the development of the hotel and a water theme park. Construction of the project is expected to be completed by 2007.
In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Kerzner said, they have hired some top officials to kickstart the project.
Prior to his appointment as CEO last January, Butch Kerzner served as president of Kerzner International for eight years.
Born in Durban (South Africa) and educated in Johannesburg and at Stanford University, where he also earned his M.B.A., he spent his early career in the mergers-and-acquisitions departments of First Boston and Lazard Frres. Butch's father is Sol Kerzner, founder and Chairman of Kerzner International.
Gulf News: Tell us more about Kerzner International.
Howard Kerzner: Kerzner International is a leading international developer and operator of premier resorts and luxury hotels. Our flagship destination is Atlantis, Paradise Island, a 2,317-room, ocean-themed resort located on Paradise Island, The Bahamas.
Atlantis, Paradise Island is a unique resort featuring three interconnected hotel towers built around a 7-acre lagoon and a 34-acre marine environment that includes the world's largest open-air marine habitat.
We have built a product in Atlantis that has such great differential. Our branding and marketing efforts have been a success, and Atlantis has become very well known in North America.
In fact, the brand now ranks as second in awareness in many markets, second only to Disney. Based on our success with Atlantis in North America, we looked to take the formula elsewhere in the world, and found the ideal location in Dubai, on The Palm, Jumeirah.
Kerzner also operates luxury resorts under the One&Only brand. We manage nine resort hotels in The Bahamas, Mauritius, Dubai, the Maldives and Mexico.
We'll be opening a new resort in the Maldives later this year and are in the planning stages on the One&Only Cape Town in South Africa. Our luxury resort business, to which we recently added the newest resort, One&Only Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico, will be growing dramatically over the next few years.
Right now, we have six properties open and three in design or construction phases, in the Maldives, Cape Town and Havana. Our objective, and we are on target to meet it, is to have 20 open or under development within four years.
How has the company been performing during the last few years?
Our company is at a very exciting stage right now. Over the past two years, we've grown the business as well as prepared it for a major transformational phase over the coming years. We'll be undertaking projects that will more than double the present size of the company's asset base.We have been a pioneering investor and a successful developer, making positive and long-lasting contributions to the economic progress of host countries. We played a big role in establishing the tourism industry in Mauritius and transformed The Bahamas from an undeveloped market by creating one of the largest resort hotel complexes in North America.
Financially our business has been extremely resilient with 2002 and 2003, despite the general downturn in travel, each setting records for us. This has given us a stronger base from which to undertake these major development programmes. With the aggressive expansion plans that lay ahead for us, we continue to focus on ensuring that our growth continues.
What is your relationship to Sun International?
Kerzner International is a Bahama-based company and is completely different from Sun International that operates in South Africa. Our name used to be Sun International but we changed our name to Kerzner International during 2002 in order to avoid any further confusion with the Sun International that operates in South Africa.
As history, Sol Kerzner, who today serves as Chairman of Kerzner International, founded both of South Africa's largest hotel groups, Southern Sun and Sun International, which included the conceptualisation, development and operation of Sun City, the most ambitious resort in Africa. Sol Kerzner subsequently sold his interest in Sun International and it is now a separate company.
In 1994, he made his first major acquisition outside Africa through the purchase of the Paradise Island Resort in the Bahamas. Immediately after acquiring the resort, Kerzner International launched a major re-development and expansion programme turning the Atlantis, Paradise Island into the powerhouse of a brand it is today.
Kerzner International, under Chairman Sol Kerzner and my leadership as CEO, continues to identify and develop unique opportunities for the Company, including expanding our luxury hotel and resort portfolios.
How do you see the future of Dubai in the tourism sector and how does your project in Dubai contribute to Vision 2010 of General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister?
We are very excited to be a part of General Sheikh Mohammed's incredible vision for Dubai. His plan to diversifying the UAE's economic base through tourism is one of great importance and great scale. Sheikh Mohammed has developed a growth plan that projects 15 million visitors by 2010.
His commitment to growing and strengthening the UAE's tourism infrastructure reaffirms our commitment to Dubai. As Dubai grows as a destination, Atlantis, The Palm will serve as a platform for continued growth.
What is the latest news on the Atlantis, The Palm project?
Plans are on track for the first phase of the facility, modelled on our hugely successful resort and water theme park on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
The new Atlantis, The Palm, a joint venture with Istithmar, a sister company to Nakheel a corporate entity owned by the Government of Dubai is underway on The Palm, Jumeirah.Architectural and conceptual planning is moving ahead and construction is expected to begin before the end of this year.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2007. The joint venture provides for the initial development of Atlantis, The Palm, which will have capacity for more than 6,000 visitors daily.
What can we expect from Atlantis, The Palm?
We believe that Atlantis, The Palm will take the concept of the entertainment destination for the whole family to a new level. We are very excited about plans for the new Atlantis, the Palm, which will feature one of the world's largest marine habitats; a snorkel trail; a 'swim with the dolphins' encounter programme; an Atlantis-themed 'archaeological' experience called 'The Dig' featuring some really unusual fish habitats; and acres and acres of water-rides.
One of the rides, the Leap of Faith, will plunge riders down 60 feet at an almost vertical angle that then runs through an acrylic tube through shark infested waters.
We see our water attractions as the key to our success in Dubai. We have some unique development ideas for the water theme park experiences that have not been featured before anywhere in the world that will be the centerpiece of this new project and which will cater to both hotel guests and all visitors to Dubai. With a 'day visitor' programme, interactive marine animal experiences, and an array of water slides in addition to the fantastic marine habitat, our water theme park will be the centerpiece of Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai.
What clientele would you like to attract to Atlantis, the Palm?
Our aim is to make Atlantis, The Palm yet another catalyst in the development of tourism in Dubai. The Atlantis brand and concept have been successful because of broad appeal and in Dubai, our goal is to extend the brand to the European and Asian markets, which already make up a large percentage of foreign tourism in Dubai, as well as to local residents of Dubai and the greater Gulf states. Our water park will cater to both hotel guests and all visitors and residents of Dubai.
How is the project being funded?
Kerzner and Istithmar, an entity owned by the government of Dubai and an affiliate of Nakheel, are equity partners and we are currently raising debt financing, at the project level, with regional and international banks. As part of our joint venture we have agreed on terms for development services and long-term management.
Who will lead the management team here at the Atlantis, The Palm?
Atlantis, as a brand, and Kerzner, are positioned as the destination entertainment company of the future. That is why we are very particular about our design and operations team.
Atlantis, The Palm will be the anchor of one of the most exciting travel and leisure opportunities in the world and we believe our team here is ideally suited to operate this amazing project.
Jim Boocher, the executive vice president of Kerzner International Development, has been with Kerzner for eight years and has worked throughout the world on Kerzner's projects.
Jim led our team in the building of Atlantis, Paradise Island and has now relocated to Dubai where he has total responsibility for the next three years in developing Atlantis, The Palm.
At the beginning of the year we appointed veteran and award-winning hospitality executive George Markantonis as chief executive of Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai. George will serve as an integral link between the development planning phase of this project and the ultimate opening of the resort.
The recent addition of Frank Murru as Kerzner's chief marine officer, with responsibility for our marine habitats, interactive marine animal experiences and aquatic-themed attractions, was also an important step.
Frank has more than 30 years of experience, including an extensive background in water park operations and theme parks as well as an intimate background in zoology and marine habitats. Given the importance of this project to our Company, both my father and I will continue to be very actively involved in this project for a long period of time.
I have come to really enjoy my association with our partners at Istithmar and really enjoy being part of the dynamic environment that is Dubai.
Kerzner International has been involved in Dubai with the One&Only Royal Mirage. What have you learned from this experience and how will these lessons affect the Atlantis project?
We have operated the One&Only Royal Mirage hotel in Dubai since 1999 and recently expanded this resort to 466 rooms. The property has been extremely successful and we have been able to see, first hand, the tremendous growth of Dubai as a tourist destination. Our guests at the property come from around the world and we host many local residents at our dining establishments each evening.
From our experience, we have learned that to be successful we must respect local tradition and culture and develop bonds of trust with the local community. For that reason, we place local partners at the heart of our planning process as we did when recently adding the Arabian Court and The Residence and Spa to the existing structure of The Palace at One&Only Royal Mirage.
One also needs to build in an environment that encourages tourism and has a broad vision.
We have seen the incredible commitment the Government of Dubai has to developing the country's infrastructure, from its airport and airline to such projects as Internet City and Media City and its recently opened 6,500-delegate convention facility. It is that commitment that continues to excite us.
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