Dubai’s Nakheel starts work on $65m hotel at Ibn Battuta Mall
Developer breaks ground on 375-room Avani hotel, as part of $1.4bn hospitality expansion drive
The Dubai master developer Nakheel today broke ground on a 375-room hotel at Ibn Battuta Mall, with a total project value of AED240 million ($65m).
The start of works comes a month after the company handed a construction contract worth AED184.5 million to Dubai-based Parkway International Contracting to build the hotel, which will be operated by Thailand’s Minor Hotel Group under the Avani brand.
The ground-breaking ceremony – Nakheel’s second in a week – was led by Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah.
Set for delivery in 2019, the Avani is the second Nakheel hotel at Ibn Battuta Mall and one of 18 in the company’s growing hospitality project portfolio, the developer said in a statement.
Nakheel is investing AED5 billion ($1.4bn) in the sector, bringing over 5,800 rooms and serviced apartments to Dubai in line with the government’s 2021 vision.
Nakheel Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah said: “Today is yet another major milestone for our hospitality business that highlights our commitment to Vision 2021, further reinforces our position as a leading player in Dubai’s ever-diversifying hospitality sector and cements our partnership with Minor Hotel Group. The Avani is an exciting enhancement to Ibn Battuta Mall and a shining example of our quest to bring new, quality, international hotel brands to the emirate.”
The ground-breaking ceremony comes a week after construction began at Nakheel’s AED176 million, 304-room Premier Inn hotel at Dragon City.
Located next to the new link connecting Ibn Battuta Mall with the Dubai Metro, the Avani will have a built-up area of 278,000 sq ft across 15 floors, and feature an all-day restaurant, pool, gym and car park for 135 vehicles. It complements Nakheel’s first hotel at Ibn Battuta – a 372-room Premier Inn – which opened last October.
