Omni to run star-rated Marco Polo

JAKARTA (JP): Omni Hotels Asia-Pacific of Hong Kong signed an agreement here yesterday with PT Danayasa Arthatama and PT Aneka Bumi Prasidha on the management of a luxury hotel to be built at the Sudirman Central Business District in South Jakarta.

The agreement was signed by Omni's president Michael C. Kalyk, Danayasa's president Nasroel Chas and Aneka's president Mansjur Tandiono, with Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave witnessing.

Danayasa, a subsidiary of the publicly-listed PT Jakarta International Hotel Development, is a company developing the business compound, while Aneka is an affiliate of the Prasidha Group which runs various businesses, including those in the fishery, property and agribusiness sectors.

The planned 400-room property, which will be called Marco Polo, will be built with an investment of US$100 million. It will be 75 percent owned by Danayasa, 15 percent by Aneka and 10 percent by Omni and will be classified into either four or five stars.

"Jakarta is one of Asia's fastest developing business cities. The strategic location of the Marco Polo hotel, being next to the Jakarta Stock Exchange and major banks and commercial towers, presents us with a niche market opportunity to serve our international business travelers to the city," Kalyk said.

A number of buildings are under construction at the business complex, the first super block to be developed in the city, which will include apartments, a hospital, office towers and hotels. Another hotel to be built at the complex will be managed by Conrad of the United States.

The construction of the 27-story Marco Polo hotel will start early next year, while its operation is scheduled for the middle of 1998.

Omni Hotels Asia-Pacific has over 47 first-class hotels with 18,283 rooms in Asia, the United States and Mexico. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Wharf (Holdings) Ltd., a diversified publicly-listed Hong Kong company with interests in properties, terminals, transportation and communications.

Omni Hotels Asia-Pacific, planning to open its first four-star hotel in West Jakarta in September, targets to run other hotels in Surabaya, East Java, and Medan, North Sumatra, in the next few years. The company has a portfolio of five existing properties in Asia, including those in Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam. (icn)