The Swiss hotel chain Movenpick is to manage a 187-room hotel in Ramallah, at urban four-star level. The hotel will cost an estimated $20 million. Already under construction, it is due to open in March 2000.
According to a memorandum of understanding signed two months ago by the heads of the Movenpick chain and the hotel owners, technical know-how will be supplied for setting up and managing the hotel once construction is completed. The management contract is at an advanced stage of negotiations.
The hotel is being built by Arab Hotels Co., owned by a group of Palestinian investors from the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Kuwait. The company is traded on the Nablus stock exchange, and its owners include the Yardenit insurance company, Palestinian investment firms, the Jordan-Kuwait bank and Palestinian businessmen, including the Abelhadi family and others.
The owners expect the hotel to be patronised by businesspersons, international companies, diplomatic representatives and Palestinian Authority senior officials. The Palestinian parliament building is located a few minutes walk from the hotel. The hotel will also serve for international conventions and seminars, while residents of the West Bank will use it for family events.
Published by Israel's Business Arena October 19, 1998