Al Habtoor has restarted work on a stalled Dh1 billion hotel project on the Palm Jumeriah in Dubai.
Work originally started on the Habtoor Island Resort and Spa in 2007, but it was put on hold the following year because of the global economic crisis, the company said.
"We did the piling, the excavation, but afterwards we stopped," said Khalaf Al Habtoor, the chairman of Al Habtoor Group. "Now we think it is the right time to start. There are lot of visitors to the country. The tourism to the country is increasing from all over the world."
Changes have been made to the design of the luxury hotel, which is located on the Crescent of the Palm Jumeirah.
The 330 room property is expected to open in 2013.
A Habtoor said it would appoint "one of the most luxurious international hotel brands" to manage the resort.
Thirty five-star hotels were originally planned for the Palm Jumeirah island, with 14,000 rooms, according to the website of the property developer Nakheel. But most of these were put on hold or cancelled as the property market and economy soured.
rbundhun@thenational.ae
