Prince Alwaleed Buys $24.9m Dubai Hotel

KINGDOM Hotel Investments (KHI), the leading hotel and resort investment company, chaired by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, has acquired the neighboring property to its M?venpick Bur Dubai hotel for $24.9 million.

KHI plans to spend $4.4 million on furnishing, finishing and upgrading the facilities to match 5-star serviced apartments standards. The property will be named M?venpick Bur Dubai Residences and will provide additional capacity to this successful hotel through fully serviced apartments and facilities. “The M?venpick Bur Dubai hotel goes from strength to strength and we are delighted to have the opportunity to extend its offering through the development of the M?venpick Bur Dubai Residences,” said Prince Alwaleed.

“Dubai is an area of ever-increasing business and tourism and we are confident of continuing demand in our prime location. The M?venpick Bur Dubai Residences are an example of our ability to actively asset-manage our properties, where we have reacted quickly to demand growth with the addition of capacity,” said Sarmad Zok, Chief Executive Officer of KHI.

The M?venpick Bur Dubai Residences, will provide 63 hotel apartments, a swimming pool, gym, retail outlets and underground parking, which will further build on the demand for accommodation in Dubai and the Bur Dubai area in particular. These apartments will be furnished by KHI and fully operational by the first quarter of 2007. The property will target the short to medium-stay guests, in particular the growing demand from overseas outpatients of the new medical facilities currently under construction in Healthcare City, as well as longer-term visitors to Dubai.

Prince Alwaleed who is also the Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), met with the French Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy. The meeting took place at the Ministry of Interior in response to an official invitation from the minister and was also attended by Ahmad Altobaishi, executive to the chairman.

During the meeting the two discussed the long standing friendship and the social and economic bi-lateral relations between France and Saudi Arabia. This comes in line with fact that Prince Alwaleed is the most significant and prominent international investor in France. Topping the list of Prince Alwaleed’s investments in France, are the George V Hotel and Euro Disney Paris. In addition, HRH is also a major cultural contributor, when he decided earlier this year to fund the creation of an exhibition space for the new department of Islamic arts at the Musée du Louvre in Paris.

It is also worth mentioning that Prince Alwaleed had been bestowed the medal of “Legion of Honor,” with the rank of Commander by the French President, Jacques Chirac in February this year.

The medal is the country’s highest civilian honor in recognition of the Prince’s role in strengthening Saudi-French cultural, business and economic relations.