Five-star Corinthia to be built in Algiers

Corinthia Hotels International (CHI) has signed technical assistance and hotel management services agreements with the Algerian hotel-owning company Lafider spa for the construction and operation of Corinthia Hotel - Algiers, a five-star deluxe hotel complex to be built in the city of Algiers, CHI said.

Through the agreement, the Malta-based upscale hotel operator will be giving its technical assistance and advice in the planning and design of the Corinthia Hotel - Algiers and will eventually take on its management once it is fully operational and capable of delivering its services to Corinthia's five-star deluxe standards.

Construction work is scheduled to start during the first half of this year, with the hotel set to open its doors in 2009.

The signing ceremony took place in Algiers in December between CHI chairman Karmenu Vella and Lafider president and general manager Omar Abdelaziz El Aweni.

Welcoming the new collaboration agreement, Mr Vella expressed the company's delight to be taking on this new project - the first-ever hotel to be flying the Corinthia flag in the city of Algiers. The deal was another step in CHI's quest to become a leading international hotel operator with the Corinthia, Wyndham and Ramada Plaza brands in EMEA, he said.

Mr Abdelaziz El Aweni expressed the hope that the deal would be the catalyst for the further growth of CHI in the region.

The five-star Corinthia Hotel - Algiers will feature 274 exclusively appointed bedrooms and suites, a business centre and executive floors, a health club with indoor and outdoor pools, a variety of restaurants, a banqueting hall and meeting rooms, and the latest in conference facilities. All this will be housed in an elegant, glass-fronted tower, which will be part of a bigger commercial complex.

Founded by the Pisani family in the 1960s, Corinthia Hotels is a luxury brand of five-star hotels in Lisbon, Portugal; Budapest, Hungary; Prague, Czech Republic; St Petersburg, Russia; Malta; and Tripoli, Libya.

CHI Ltd is an international hotel operating joint venture company between Malta-based International Hotel Investments plc (IHI) and Wyndham Hotel Group of the US. It has exclusive rights to manage Corinthia, Wyndham and Ramada Plaza hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).