Dubai master developer Nakheel today (April 17) broke ground on a new, Dh176-million ($47.9 million) hotel at Dragon City, further reinforcing its aggressive expansion into the hospitality sector.

The ground-breaking ceremony, led by Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah, comes less than two weeks after the company awarded a contract worth Dh136 million to Al Ghurair Contracting and Engineering Works to build the 304-room hotel.

With a total project value of Dh176 million, the Premier Inn is Nakheel’s second hotel at Dragon City. The first, a 251-room ibis Styles hotel, opened in February 2016.

It is one of two Nakheel hotels managed by UK hospitality giant Whitbread under the Premier Inn brand. The first, a 372-room hotel at Ibn Battuta Mall, opened last October.

Set for delivery in 2019, Premier Inn Dragon City is the latest project in Nakheel’s Dh5 billion hospitality expansion. Last week, the company confirmed new hotels at Jumeirah Village Circle and Discovery Gardens, bringing its number of hospitality projects to 18.

Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah said: “Today marks another milestone in our hospitality expansion, and highlights our commitment to delivering new hotels across Dubai in line with the Government of Dubai’s 2021 vision. I am delighted to declare that work is officially under way at Premier Inn Dragon City, and to further reinforce our already highly-successful relationship with Whitbread through this latest partnership.”

Premier Inn Dragon City is part of a huge new master plan that is transforming the area into a giant retail, residential and recreational complex of more than 11 million sq ft.
With a built-up area of 178,000 sq ft across eight floors, the hotel will have a restaurant, Costa coffee shop and gym.

Nakheel’s hospitality expansion is bringing 18 new hotels and serviced apartment complexes, with over 5,800 rooms between them, to Dubai. Two are already operational, with the rest at various stages of construction and development. – TradeArabia News Service