Thai hotel chain Dusit International has signed an MoU with Ithmaar Development Company (IDC) for the operation and management of a five-star resort and spa in Bahrain.

Dusit Dilmunia will be located on Bahrain Health Island.  

The hotel chain boasts a total of seven hotels and residences in the Middle East either fully operational or under construction.

“Our regional strategic plan is beginning to unfold,” said Octavio Gamarra, senior vice president of Dusit International, making the announcement at the Arabian Travel Market today (May 6) in Dubai.

“Thai culture in general is increasingly popular throughout the Middle East. The key to our success has always been our unique, unrivalled and world renowned Thai hospitality, which sets Dusit apart from any other hospitality chain in the world.”

The property will feature up to 250 guest rooms, restaurants, meeting space as well as a number of Thai-style beach-front villas situated on 30,000 sq m of pristine coastline. In keeping with the Dusit brand, the hotel will also offer Thai health and spa services.

“IDC is pleased to partner with Dusit. We discovered during our preliminary review that IDC and Dusit shared the same corporate philosophy and vision for this development. Naturally we are confident of not only meeting but exceeding our objectives for Dilmunia, due to the natural convergence of values and beliefs,” commented Mohammed Khalil Alsayed, CEO and member of the Board of Directors  of IDC.

Reclamation work on the 125 hectare man-made island, which will also accommodate residential, commercial and retail space, is on schedule. Construction of the hotel is expected to begin in 2011 with a significant part of the resort operational by 2012 and the entire island fully completed by 2014.

The timeline for the development of Dilmunia is a factor that IDC believes gives them a competitive advantage.

“According to some analysts, core construction costs in parts of the Gulf are now over 60 per cent cheaper than they were last year. So we will benefit from these lower costs. In addition even the most pessimistic financial experts agree that the global downturn will be well on the road to recovery by 2012, providing an ideal timeframe for our project,” added Alsayed. – TradeArabia News Service