Unique, Starwood to jointly build three luxury hotels in country
Thursday, 11 March 2010
FE Report
The leading local conglomerate Unique Group, which owns and operates the Westin Dhaka, has joined hands with international hospitality giant Starwood Hotels and Resorts to build up three more luxury hotels in Bangladesh over the next three years.
Under the planned joint expansion, two five-star hotels are going to be established in the uptown of the capital - a 250 rooms Le Meridian at Banani and a 200 rooms Westin Dhaka-2 at Gulshan - while a third Westin with a capacity of 350 rooms is aimed to be constructed in the port city of Chittagong.
The two parties have inked a deal in this regard at a formal ceremony in the city Tuesday. Managing Director of Unique Hotel and Resorts Noor Ali and Regional Vice President of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Don Elliot signed the deal on behalf of their respective entities.
The total initial investment of the expansion project would reach around Tk 20 billion (US$ 300 million) and would employ around 1,500 more people within the sector while creating thousands of other jobs indirectly through backward and forward linkage industries, Unique Group officials said.
"This latest move by Unique Group and its partner Starwood is the proof that an investment-friendly environment has been established in the country and the investors' confidence has been restored, said Mashiur Rahman, Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister, on the eve of the deal signing.
Pointing to the need for quality investment as a major precursor for development, Executive Chairman of the Board of Investment (BoI) S A Samad said, "Addressing the issues of poverty alleviation, climate change and unemployment are the major challenges for the country."
The latest expansion plan in the hospitality industry came against the backdrop of a growing demand for world class hotels and resorts in the capital amid increasing number of foreign visitors in Bangladesh over the last decade.
The leading local conglomerate Unique Group, which owns and operates the Westin Dhaka, has joined hands with international hospitality giant Starwood Hotels and Resorts to build up three more luxury hotels in Bangladesh over the next three years.
Under the planned joint expansion, two five-star hotels are going to be established in the uptown of the capital - a 250 rooms Le Meridian at Banani and a 200 rooms Westin Dhaka-2 at Gulshan - while a third Westin with a capacity of 350 rooms is aimed to be constructed in the port city of Chittagong.
The two parties have inked a deal in this regard at a formal ceremony in the city Tuesday. Managing Director of Unique Hotel and Resorts Noor Ali and Regional Vice President of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Don Elliot signed the deal on behalf of their respective entities.
The total initial investment of the expansion project would reach around Tk 20 billion (US$ 300 million) and would employ around 1,500 more people within the sector while creating thousands of other jobs indirectly through backward and forward linkage industries, Unique Group officials said.
"This latest move by Unique Group and its partner Starwood is the proof that an investment-friendly environment has been established in the country and the investors' confidence has been restored, said Mashiur Rahman, Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister, on the eve of the deal signing.
Pointing to the need for quality investment as a major precursor for development, Executive Chairman of the Board of Investment (BoI) S A Samad said, "Addressing the issues of poverty alleviation, climate change and unemployment are the major challenges for the country."
The latest expansion plan in the hospitality industry came against the backdrop of a growing demand for world class hotels and resorts in the capital amid increasing number of foreign visitors in Bangladesh over the last decade.