Omni opens first hotel in downtown Jakarta

Omni opens first hotel in downtown Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Omni Hotels Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of Wharf
Holding of Hong Kong, opened yesterday its first hotel in
Indonesia.

The four-star hotel, called the Omni Batavia Hotel, is located
in the Chinatown area in West Jakarta and has a strong Dutch
influence in its architectural design.

Omni Batavia is owned by PT Wahana Andamari, a subsidiary of
the Tamara Group, which has invested some US$60 million in the
hotel.

Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, who
marked the hotel's opening, praised Tamara Group yesterday for
its pioneer step in establishing a luxury hotel in such an area.

"I hope the hotel will be the starting point for the
development of the tourist sector in Jakarta's older part. I also
hope that facilities in the surrounding areas, including the Kota
railway station, will also be developed as tourist-related
facilities."

"Several banks, which are in old buildings, have also
committed to letting the buildings be used as tourist
attractions," he said.

The new hotel is expected to bring back the charm of the Dutch
colonial era. Even it's name harks back to past times, using the
ancient name of Jakarta -- Batavia.

"Let's invite the Dutch and Portuguese people to come here
again. But now they have to pay," Joop said.

Omni Hotels Asia-Pacific currently operates five hotels in
Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam, while its principal Omni Hotels
Group owns, operates and franchises more than 40 first-class
hotels in the United States, Mexico and China.

In addition to Omni Batavia, the hotel chain will also manage
another four-star hotel in Jakarta, to be called Marco Polo,
which will be 75 percent owned by PT Danayasa Arthatama
15 percent by PT Aneka Bumi Prasidha and 10 percent by Omni. The
latter will be located at the Sudirman Central Business District
in South Jakarta.

Director of development of Omni Hotels Asia-Pacific Harold
Wentworth told reporters yesterday that his company plans to
manage other hotels in Surabaya, East Java, and Medan, North
Sumatra, within the next few years.

"Negotiations with our partners are still underway. Each of
the planned hotels will need an investment of about $60 million,"
he said.

He said that Omni focuses on commercial cities in expanding
its business. (icn)