IFA to build $1b luxury resort on Palm Jumeirah

Dubai: IFA Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of Kuwait investment firm IFA, said yesterday it will build a $1-billion resort on the Palm Jumeirah.

Inspired by Yemeni heritage and architecture, the Kingdom of Sheba resort is IFA's fourth investment on the man-made island.

It already has a hotel and some residential buildings under development on the Palm.

The Kingdom of Sheba takes the value of projects being developed by IFA in Dubai to $2.5 billion, IFA Hotels & Resorts chairman Talal Jassim Al Bahar told reporters.

"This is by far our most ambitious resort development. Following in the footsteps of our successful projects in Dubai with over 1,800 units sold in the past three years, the Kingdom of Sheba is certain to become a significant landmark in our international portfolio," he said.

The resort covers an area of 141,500 square metres on the Crescent of the Palm, adjacent to the $1.5-billion Atlantis resort development of Kerzner International.

The Kingdom of Sheba will be managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and will consist of residences, a hotel, private residence club, vacation club and a souq.

Partnership

The project will be completed by mid-2010.

Werner Burger, president and chief operating officer of IFA Hotels & Resorts, told Gulf News his company's Palm projects will create 3,000 hotel rooms and residential units.

The Fairmont Kingdom of Sheba hotel will have of 550 rooms.

In a joint venture with Nakheel, IFA is also investing in the Palm Golden Mile project.

It will create 860 luxury apartments, 19,500 square metres of office space and 22,000 square metres of retail space comprising of boutique shops and restaurants.

It is also developing the 400-room Fairmont Palm Hotel & Resort hotel and Fairmont Palm Residence, a cluster of 558 apartments, on the trunk of Palm Jumeirah.

Burger said his company's partnership with Fairmont is a strategic one and covers several developments across the world.

Saudi Arabia's Prince Al Waleed owns hotel management firm Fairmont and has a five per cent stake in International Financial Advisers (IFA), the parent company of IFA Hotels and Resorts. IFA has a seven per cent stake in

Prince Walid's Kingdom Hotel Investment (KHI) in a cross-share ownership arrangement.

IFA is also building $100-million Laguna Tower in Jumeirah Lakes that will be managed by Movenpick Hotels and Resorts, another company in which Prince Walid has a significant stake.

The two companies have also partnered on developments in South Africa and Kenya.