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Soaring ambitions

UAE-based Tatweer has poured millions of dollars into Dubai’s most ambitious hotel resort project yet – Bawadi hospitality and tourism project – thereby transfoming the hospitality sector in the region.

01 November 2006

Infrastructure work on Asia Asia Hotels & Resort – the world’s largest hotel and the centrepiece of the Dh100 billion ($27.2 billion) Bawadi hospitality and tourism development project in Dubai – is expected to start early next year.

Already, architectural and engineering design work on the project has started and is being carried out by Pelli Clarke Pelli, the firm that has designed a number of the world’s famous buildings, including the Petronas Towers in Malaysia.
The US-based architect is renowned for its unorthodox style that attempts to highlight the uniqueness of each project.
“Conceiving the design concept of Asia Asia Hotels & Resort is a significant step of the Bawadi project,” says Arif Mubarak, Bawadi’s CEO.
Asia Asia Hotel will have a total of 6,500 rooms – 5,100 four-star rooms and 1,400 four-star rooms and is scheduled to open its doors in 2010.
The Bawadi hospitality and tourism development project that will be built on a 10 km stretch of desert is inching closer to reality with the signing of two key agreements. While Zabeel Investments has bagged the right to develop America Hotels and Resorts as part of the Bawadi hospitality corridor, Gantoot Star General Trading has picked up the mandate to develop the Pirates Cove Hotel and Resorts at an investment cost of Dh800 million.
Infrastructure development on the Bawadi project began in May this year at an initial investment cost of Dh4 billion and the first phase of the project includes the installation of the energy, water, waste handling and transportation systems.
“The initial phase of infrastructure development will cover 13 sq km of the 75sq km project, and is due to be completed by 2008,” says Mubarak. “The infrastructure work is a vital component that needs to be implemented competently, before construction of the buildings can begin. The beginning of infrastructure work is also indicative of a world-class project taking shape.
According to Tatweer, a member of Dubai Holding, 50 per cent of all plots of land that are available for private development within the landmark Bawadi hospitality and tourism project, were “reserved during the first nine hours of its announcement in May, raising Dh30 billion in investment.”
Tatweer, which is managing and developing the Bawadi project, will invest Dh40 billion in Bawadi. It will own and develop 12 of the 31 hotels on the 10 km hotel strip which will be the longest in the world. The remaining 19 hotels, according to a spokesman, will be operated and managed by top global hospitality brands.
“The high demand for the plots strengthens our belief that Bawadi will be a leading international hospitality and tourism destination,” says Saeed Al Muntafiq, CEO of Tatweer.
Over the next eight years, Bawadi projects will double the current number of hotel rooms in Dubai and when completed in 2014, it will be able to house 3.3 million guests, which will represent more than 21 per cent of the total number of tourists that Dubai expects to host by that time.”
Tatweer will develop a series of luxurious theme-based hotels such as the Desert Gate Hotels & Resorts, the Wahat Alkuttab Hotels, the Desert Beach Hotel & Resort, the Land of Arabia Hotels & Resorts, the Wild Wild West Hotels, the Africa World Hotels, the Europa Hotels & Resorts and the Pirate’s Cove Hotels & Resorts.
The hotel projects will be developed in five distinct phases to scale with the growth of the tourism in-flow to Dubai. Initially five luxury hotels will open by 2010 with a further six to open by 2011. Seven hotels will be completed by 2012, seven in 2013 and the final fifth phase will see six further hotels opened in 2014.

Pirates Cove Hotel & Resorts
Pirates Cove Hotel & Resorts will be one of the 31 thematic hotels currently under development at Bawadi. Of four-star rating, it will comprise 800 rooms and six restaurants offering authentic and live pirate shows, antique exhibitions, jewellery displays and auctions that transport visitors to a time when “skull and cross-bone” black-flagged ships ruled the waves.
“Our privileged partnership with Bawadi marks a significant step for Gantoot in the hospitality sector. Aware of the high level of proficiency that Bawadi expects of any vendor, Gantoot will leverage its vast experience from diverse business sectors to create a distinctive tourist landmark in Dubai,” says Saqer bin Daen, a spokesman for Gantoot Star General Trading.
“Bawadi’s alliance with Gantoot Star is a win-win equation. A highly-diversified group that is currently witnessing phenomenal growth, Gantoot Star will add immense value to the overall offering of Bawadi,” says Mubarak.

America Hotels & Resorts
The America Hotels & Resorts is Zabeel Investments’ biggest venture in the hospitality sector.
“We hope to exceed expectations and develop this unique resort as the ultimate destination within Bawadi, a milestone project that has already won the reputation as being a pioneer in creativity and innovation,” says Mohammad Al Hashimi, executive chairman of Zabeel Investments.
Zabeel Investments is a multi-diversified investment company focused in the areas of commercial real estate development and management, private equity and asset management across a wide range of economic sectors in the UAE, GCC and overseas. Its collaboration with Bawadi will further strengthen its portfolio as a developer of world-class ventures in the hospitality sector.
Hosting New York’s famous Broadway acts, America Hotels & Resorts will be have a three-star rating, and comprise 500 rooms, various international restaurant chains and a shopping boulevard modelled on New York’s Fifth Avenue.
“As developers of the world’s largest hotel, Bawadi has established a unique concept of lending its name to influential and path-breaking industry leaders. Zabeel Investments represents a benchmark alliance to ensure the highest standards of excellence,” says Mubarak.
The Bawadi project was conceived to develop capacity for the forecast dramatic increase in tourism to Dubai, which is set to reach more than 15 million visitors over the coming years, compared to the six million tourists who visited the emirate last year.
Not only will the Bawadi project help to stimulate direct growth in the tourism industry in the UAE, but it will act also as a strong catalyst to tourism dependent industries such as MICE (Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions and Exhibitions) and the corporate travel business.
In addition, Bawadi will become one of the world’s most exciting entertainment and leisure hubs through the development of entertainment centres, shopping malls, theatres and attracting leading hotel brands, restaurants and convention centres.