Malta-based CHI Hotels & Resorts (CHI) has concluded negotiations for the operation of a second Ramada Hotel in the centre of the Emirates’ capital.

The 15-year technical services and operations agreement for the new 313-room Ramada Abu Dhabi Beach hotel was signed by CHI’s vice-president for business development Paul Pisani and major general Khalil Dawood Badran on behalf of the Social Security Fund of the Ministry of the Interior of the UAE, owners of the upscale project.

The new hotel, targeted for a 2011 opening, is being developed on a 31,000 square-metre site with a 300 metre beach front, and is within a short drive from Maqta Bridge, at the entrance to Abu Dhabi city centre.

The Ramada Abu Dhabi Beach will feature 313 guest rooms and suites on seven floors, several meeting rooms, a two-storey ballroom, three restaurants, indoor and outdoor pools and a Health Club with gymnasium, squash courts, massage rooms, a sauna and solarium.

“This new deal in Abu Dhabi, struck so closely after our first incursion in this phenomenal city, reaffirms CHI's current and future commitment to actively grow our management operations not only in Europe, where we already have a strong presence, but most importantly in the vast African and Middle East regions,” said CHI’s CEO and managing director Tony Potter.

“These territories are not only a natural breeding ground for our Mediterranean born ‘Corinthia’ luxury brand, but also offer extensive growth opportunities for the well established Wyndham and Ramada brands, which CHI operates on an exclusive basis through its joint venture with the US-based Wyndham Hotel Group. Over the last year alone, besides the two Abu Dhabi hotels, CHI has increased its portfolio in this part of the world by developing other upscale hotels in, Dubai, Egypt  and Libya.” – TradeArabia News Service