Luxury Hotel Set To Rise Near Haiti Airport

Investors plan to build a seven-story luxury hotel with 240 rooms near Port-au-Prince’s international airport.

Supporters of the $33 million investment, regard the project as a crucial move that will bring more developers and investors to Haiti, which was shattered by a magnitude-7 earthquake on January 12.

The unnamed hotel funding will come from private investors and lending organizations. Energy mogul and developer Ronaldo Gonzalez-Bunster of Argentina, Mevs family–a powerful family in Haiti–and Inter-American Development Bank, among others, are said to be joining hands for the project.

Developers claim that the hotel will have its own water and sewage treatment facilities and power plant and will be featuring the usual amenities such as conference center, lounges, spa and swimming pool. More importantly, the hotel will pass, if not exceed, international earthquake standards.

Contractor bidding is set to start in October. The hotel construction is expected to be completed approximately after 18 months while the groundbreaking is slated by early 2011.  It is not known as to whether contractors from Haiti will be handed contracts but it is likely that people residing nearby will be employed to do the manual labor.

According to Youri Mevs, WIN Group managing partner, the site is currently cleared from inhabitants since it has only been used for agriculture before.  However, there are families–whose homes were devastated by the earthquake­­–occupying areas surrounding the airport and they might get affected by the construction. Mevs added the project would lift the area’s land values and would lead the development of area surrounding the airport.