M&C to grow Mid-east, North Africa presence

CITY Developments‘ hotel unit Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) plans to grow its presence in the Middle East and North Africa from 30 properties now to 100 by 2015, says the group’s head in that region.

Reaching out: M&C already manages nine completed projects in the Middle East and North Africa, including the Millennium Airport Hotel Dubai

Ali H Lakhraim, president and CEO of M&C hotels & resorts for the Middle East and North Africa, said achieving the target will make the company one of the region’s largest hotel management players.

M&C is leaving no stone unturned in its quest for expansion. It recently signed contracts to manage three upcoming hotels in Iraq.

‘We are very happy with the growth we have seen over the past six to seven years,’ Mr Lakhraim said. M&C set up its Middle East and North Africa unit in 2002. ‘The hotels we manage will give us a boost to grow even faster as people become more familiar with our name,’ he said.

M&C now manages nine completed projects in the Middle East and North Africa in places such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Doha in Qatar. Occupancy rates for these hotels range from 60-80 per cent on average and room rates can go as high as US$320 a night in Abu Dhabi.

Another 21 management contracts for hotels under construction have been secured, Mr Lakhraim said. Three of these contracts are for projects in Sulemania, Iraq. M&C will partner the Faruk Group, a conglomerate with a large presence in Iraq in sectors such as telecommunications, the cement industry, construction, IT services and hospitality, to operate these hotels – a five-star Grand Millennium property and one four-star hotel each under the Copthorne and Tara brands.

M&C said it is the first Singapore-controlled international operator to move into Iraq. And Mr Lakhraim said Sulemania is peaceful, unlike other parts of the country.

Looking ahead, M&C is in discussions to see if it can win contracts to manage hotels in a slew of countries including Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Libya and Egypt.

London-listed M&C owns and/or operates more than 120 hotels in 18 countries.

Source : Business Times – 8 Oct 2009