Syria's Fouad Takla Construction Company (FTCC) has completed the on-time construction of the Four Seasons, Damascus, the first five-star hotel to be built in the Syrian capital in the last two decades - and the country's largest.
The 23-storey, 300-room hotel, in Damascus city centre close to the Damascus International Fairgrounds, is due to open next summer and has been described by Four Seasons Group management as 'the jewel in the crown' of the luxury chain. It is owned by the Syrian Saudi Company For Tourism & Investment of which Saudi prince and billionaire Al-Walid Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz owns 65%.
"The on-time delivery of this project has confirmed the reputation of Fouad Takla Construction as a major force in the Middle East's building industry," said Engineer Talal Fouad Takla, Managing Partner, FTCC.
"This luxury property, which boasts five restaurants, three meeting halls and a health club and swimming pool, is spearheading and providing momentum for the expansion of tourism facilities in Syria. It will greatly help the country develop its huge potential as a prime travel destination.
"With construction work matching the high standards demanded by Four Seasons, confidence in Syria as a safe investment destination has grown and this will lead to the birth of similar projects. It has also assisted the redirection of the Syrian economy towards international investment and, at the same time, exposed local contractors to modern project management concepts and service standards."
Construction of the Four Seasons, Damascus, is the latest in a series of prestigious projects undertaken by FTCC.
"We were gratified to have won this project against fierce international competition and to work on a project which is assisting the economic development of our country," explained Takla.
FTCC was the only Syrian company to qualify to bid for the US $42 million Four Seasons, Damascus project and tendered successfully in a year-long bidding process against seven of the Middle East's most important construction giants.
Work on the project began in December of 2001.
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ABOUT FOUAD TAKLA CONSTRUCTION COMPANY:
Founded in 1963, the company bears the name of its founder, Syrian Fouad Takla who graduated as a civil engineer from the American University in Beirut and returned home to establish FTCC.
The company made its name on the regional construction scene throughout the 60s and early 70s building a reputation for on-time delivery and unrivalled quality.
Key projects delivered by FTCC include: The Medicine Faculty of Damascus University and the main road network of Northern Damascus - the biggest Syrian government tendered project at that time - which led to the expansion of the company into Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
FTCC also built four major sports complexes and housing facilities for competing teams in the 1976 Pan-Arab games.
Throughout the 80s and 90s, FTCC undertook a variety of projects including dams, irrigation projects, power plants, electrical sub-stations, spinning mills, factories, residential buildings and tourism complexes.
For further information:
Barbara Saunders,
MCS/Action,
PO Box 20970,
Dubai,
United Arab Emirates.
Tel: +9714 390 2960;
fax: +9714 390 8161.
email: barbara.s@actionprgroup.com
Or visit Fouad Takla Construction Company online at: www.fouadtakla.com
© Press Release 2005
