Asseyri Project once again awarded to J Hotels

The Cabinet has decided to award L. Gan’s Asseyri Project to J Hotels and Resorts. This comes after the same decision was cancelled earlier.

The decision was made during the Cabinet meeting yesterday, to rent the 19-hectare piece of land for 50 years for the development of a tourist zone catering to the middle-class.

On 29 December it was decided by the Cabinet to “postpone” the Asseyri Project awarded to J Hotels.

Minister of Tourism Maryam Zulfa said today that the project was postponed because some details were missing in the document sent to the Cabinet about the project, and now that the Cabinet has received this information and discussed the issue, they have agreed to proceed with awarding the project to J Hotels.

“As you know, the government is very eager to start the Asseyri Project. Our (government’s and J Hotel’s) keen interest led me to submit its documents to the Cabinet in a hurry. That’s why it was decided to delay it for some time. After the Cabinet received the full information, they decided to proceed with J Hotels. J Hotels was the only party which submitted a proposal in accordance with the government’s requirements for this project,” Zulfa said.

Abdulla Jabir, Chairman of J Hotels and Chairman of MDP Fund Raising Committee, said earlier that he will take the matter to court.

When informed of the new decision, Jabir, who is currently in Singapore, told Sun that he takes back the decision to take the matter to court and congratulates the government on this decision.

“It is always my wish to work with the government. […] I hope the government continues to work in this manner,” Jabir said.

The Minister said that it should be possible to sign the Contract in January.

Under the Asseyri Project, resorts consisting of 1500 beds and catering to the middle-class will be developed. It is also planned to develop two hotels, a sports and shopping complex, all catering to the middle-class.

Jabir said that the project is planned to be implemented next year.

“We are hoping to obtain consortium finance for the development of this tourist zone. Those businesses operating in the tourism industry will have the opportunity to invest in this project. We hope to collaborate with all of them in order to implement this,” Jabir said.