Hotel Saibal of Cox's Bazar will be developed as a big entertainment and tourism village on 129 acres of land under a public-private partnership (PPP) model for making the country's tourism city more attractive to tourists from home and abroad.
The PPP cell under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is going to award the work worth about US$ 100 million to a joint local and foreign initiative.
Government floated a tender for the Integrated Entertainment and Tourism Village project on April 10 this year, inviting interested international companies to execute the biggest-ever tourism project under PPP.
"It is a great sign that around 25 organisations expressed interest for the work, most of whom are competent,' PPP Cell Chief Executive Officer Syed Afsor H Uddin said.
The name of the organisation to be awarded the work will be made public very soon.
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) officials said BPC initiated efforts to renovate its age-old hotel in the tourism city a few years back with a view to modernising hotel facilities in the present context.
However, the PPP cell remodelled the BPC's efforts through the PPP model on receiving an unsolicited proposal from a Singaporean company in this connection.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the project on September 3, 2013.
The role of the PPP office is to act as a catalyst to proactively realise PPP projects.
It supports line ministries to identify, develop and tender PPP projects by augmenting government sector project development efforts with experienced external and internal PPP resources and advisers.
The PPP office is also responsible for the development and recommendation of guidance, rules, regulations, procedures and model documents for approval by the CCEA and for monitoring and ensuring compliance with these approved requirements.
An official said the project has been redesigned under PPP model with the target to set up a cultural centre, bridge villages and long-stay villages on top of water, three-star and five-star international hotels on 20 acres of land.
He said the private investor will design, operate, maintain and finance the project for a 30-year 'concessional' period.
The PPP model will enable private sector participation in the tourism industry, while bringing in best-in-class technical, design, financing, construction and operations and maintenance capabilities, the official added.
Cox's Bazar with its longest natural beach in the world is the country's prime tourist spot attracting millions of visitors every year.
Though a number of hotels and motels have been built in Cox's Bazar, hardly any of these hotels is a 5-star one or international standard.
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC), the implementing agency of the project, owns a 100-acre beach-facing land in Cox's Bazar and currently operates the 24-bed Hotel Saibal.
The project would be governed by development guidelines and regulations issued by local authorities including Cox's Bazar Development Authority, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh and Beach Regulatory Authority.
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