Aug 16, 2012
by Cheryl Tay
Singapore's hotel industry is expected to deliver 4,000 new hotel rooms by 2013, in response to the growing demand for accommodation.
Several industry players are looking to develop new hotels in the heartlands, catering to tourists away from the city. In fact, developers have submitted bids for hotel sites in suburban areas such as Farrer Park, Balestier and even as far as the west in Alexandra and Boon Lay.
One of these developments is Chip Eng Seng's (CES) first hotel property in a mixed development project at the junction of Alexandra Road and Jalan Bukit Merah. CES, through its wholly-owned subsidiary CEL-Alexandra Pte Ltd, has appointed Park Hotel Group (PHG) to take charge of the project.
Under the 10-year agreement, PHG will provide a full range of hotel management services to CES, including consultation with regards to the design and construction of the newly-built hotel.
Meanwhile, CES will invest about S$350 million in the project, inclusive of the land acquisition cost.
Construction of the development is set to begin in Q4 and the hotel is expected to open by 1H2015.
"Being a listed company, we hope to diversify. We are in the construction, development, hotel and precast yard. We hope to find opportunities in other industries as well," said Lim Tiam Seng, Executive Chairman at CES.
The project will feature a 13-storey hotel tower atop a six-storey podium comprising three levels of subdivided retail space, as well as a three-storey carpark.
Allen Law, Chief Executive Officer of PHG, said the group is looking forward to setting up another two projects in the region by the end of this year.
