The Eden Leisure Group is to invest €31 million in a new Holiday Inn Express, an extension of the  InterContinental Malta to create 32 new luxury suites, a new casino and an overhaul of the Bay Arena, all in Paceville.

Group chairman Ian De Cesare said the InterContinental Malta will be closing for three months from the beginning of February in order to minimize disruption. All staff will be retained. Apart from the new suites, the property will be upgraded.

The 32 new suites will be built on top of the existing hotel.

"We firmly believe that the country is changing and what is needed now is less additional volume and more quality. We could have fitted a further 100 standard rooms, however we have elected to create luxury suites instead," he said. 

The suites will feature the latest in green technologies including Rooms Management Systems, heat and natural lighting sensors among others. They will also benefit from their own Executive Lounge area as well as a new roof top terrace with a pool and restaurant.

The new suites on top of the InterContinental.

Casino

The Group said the new casino is is likely to be the most important addition to the overall project as it further ties the synergies of all the investments.

"Spanning almost 2,000 square metres, the casino has been designed to the highest quality standards in the industry. Luxury, quality and entertainment are the overlying concepts in the venture where the focus will not be on hardened gaming but on the overall fun and entertaining experience.

"A large lounge area with live entertainment will offer a different experience. While we will service the local market, the prime target is the foreign tourist market," it said.

A memorandum of understanding is in place with an established European casino operator to manage the operations of the Casino. This company currently operates in seven European countries and is listed on two stock exchanges.

Depending on the finalization of the concession agreement with the government, the group hopes to have the casino operational for summer 2015.

Holiday Inn Express

Eden said it had recently purchased the Giorgianis Hostel adjacent to the InterContinental Malta. Permits are now in hand to demolish the hostel and to build a new 100 room hotel, branded Holiday Inn Express and operated by InterContinental Hotels Group.

"Several significant benefits and synergies also exist with this new project and our existing businesses. The two hotels will be linked from within allowing for access to the existing car park for deliveries and collections as well as for the staff coming to work. This will significantly reduce the traffic on the street and allow for cost efficiencies within the Group. The current timeline is to start works this month and complete the hotel by December 2015."

The Bay Arena

The re-creation of the Bay Arena commenced in June this year and will be completed next month. The new venue will include seven fully furnished meeting rooms with projection and 60 inch screens and a new main hall, seating over 1,200 people, with all the requirements for any kind of event.

This venue will contribute to the InterContinental Malta’s existing meeting rooms and offers the kind of USP previously unavailable to the meeting space sector in Malta. 

The group said financing and permits for all projects are in place and it expects to create over 300 full time jobs through these new projects.