IFA Hotels & Resorts announced that it has secured financing of $115 million for its Fairmont Palm Jumeirah hotel project structured and arranged by Standard Chartered Bank.

The funding will allow IFA Hotels & Resorts to expedite the project’s completion to Q1 2012.

“The agreement will also have a positive impact on the UAE real estate industry as a whole,” said Talal Jassim Al-Bahar, vice chairman and chief of IFA HR.

“This is the first new foreign-bank funding for a Dubai hotel real estate development we have seen in a very long time,” added Joe Sita, president of IFA HI (IFA Hotel Investments).

The property will be the fifth project IFA HR has completed on the trunk of the  iconic island, following The Palm Residence (Al Nabat & Al Haseer); the Al Shalal Beach Club; Golden Mile, Palm Jumeriah and The Residences (North & South).

Construction is also well underway on the Kingdom of Sheba, which is situated on the Palm’s crescent adjacent to Atlantis. Off the island, the company is also putting the finishing touches on Laguna Tower Dubai – a mixed-use tower that includes the Mövenpick Hotel & Residence Jumeirah Lakes Towers, hotel condominiums, a private residence club and loft and duplex apartments.-TradeArabia News Service