Pekanbaru to have four-star hotel

Pekanbaru to have four-star hotel

JAKARTA (JP): The Sahid hotel chain has opened a four-star
hotel in Pekanbaru, the first of its kind in the Riau capital.

The hotel's general manager, Daulat Marbun, said in Pekanbaru
yesterday that the Sahid Hotel had launched its soft operation
filling up to 50 rooms early last month and expects its grand
opening late this year.

The hotel has a ballroom big enough to hold 2,000 people,
Antara news agency quoted Marbun as saying.

The new hotel is managed by PT Sahid International Hotel
Management and Consultant, a subsidiary of the Sahid group
controlled by businessman Sukamdani S. Gitosardjono.

"During the one-month soft operation the hotel's occupancy
rate reached 60 percent," Marbun said.

The hotel was built with a Rp 50 billion investment.

Riau has 33 star-rated hotels with more than 3,000 rooms, but
most of them are on the Batam and Bintan islands. The two islands
are being developed as tourist resorts.

Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications
Joop Ave promised the people in Ambon, Maluku, he would look for
one or more investors to build a four-star hotel following the
expansion project at the city's Pattimura airport.

During a visit to Ambon last week, Joop said Maluku would get
more foreign tourists because the airport would accommodate
international flights.

"Therefore Ambon will need an appropriate hotel," he said.

An Australian air carrier based in Darwin, Airnorth Regional,
plans to fly Ambon-Darwin twice a week starting next month.

Head of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications
office in Ambon, Robertus Sarwono, said Minister Joop had ordered
him to find a local businessperson or land owner to cooperate
with the potential investor.

There are 12 star-rated hotel with 458 rooms in Maluku.

Last year, about 15,000 foreign tourists visited Maluku, up by
15 percent from 1995, Antara reported. (icn)