Shangri La win bid to build luxury hotel in Male

COLOMBO October 14, 2007 (LBO) -- Leisure operator, Shangri-La has been seltected to build a five-star city hotel in the Maldivian capital of Male, a senior minister said Sunday.





. Shangri-La Maldives, which is currently building a 400-bed resort in the northern atoll of Villingili, is expected to complete the 200-bed city hotel by 2010, Tourism Minister Mahamood Shougee said.

Shangri-La, a Hong Kong based leisure group, was one of the two parties who sent in bids to build Male's first city five-star property in Dharubaaruge.

However, Handy Hard Investment Ltd, who initially won the bid, declined the offer and the government then awarded the contract to Shangri-La.

Shangri-La is now required to deposit five million dollars within seven days.

Male, which measures one square mile (2.

5 square kilometres), has over a dozen guest houses and small hotels but no five-star property.

Under the terms of agreement, Shangri-La must also sell a 30 percent stake in the new venture through a stock market flotation within three years of signing the contract.

Shougee said the new hotel would be a replacement for Male's Nasandhura Palace Hotel, which is owned by th