Developer SKAI completes $1.17bn Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Dubai hotel

Dubai-based property developer SKAI announced that it has completed its Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Dubai hotel and residences, two weeks ahead of schedule.

The Dhs4.3bn ($1.17bn) project, SKAI’s first hotel and residences, will officially open its doors in March 2017.

Located at the base trunk of The Palm Jumeirah and featuring a amphitheatre design, the hotel comprises 477 rooms and suites.

Amenities include 10 restaurants and nightlife settings, spa, beach, pool, a kids-only club, and health and wellness areas.

The project also includes 221 residences and handover of the units to owners has now begun, SKAI said.

Launched in May 2013, construction on the project began in December 2013, and it secured Dhs737.6m of financing in January 2014.

The financing agreement was arranged by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China’s largest bank, marking its first project financing deal for a hospitality project in the Middle East.

Read: SKAI closes Dhs1.1bn finance package for Dubai Viceroy hotels

“Over the last two years the SKAI team and our partners, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (Middle East), have been on site overseeing more than 4,000 staff to ensure its completion,” said Kabir Mulchandani, group CEO of SKAI.

Bill Walshe, CEO of Viceroy Hotel Group added: “The completion of the Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Dubai marks the opening of our first hotel in Dubai and is an important milestone in our continued growth in the region.”

SKAI also confirmed that construction work on its second hospitality and residential project, the Viceroy Dubai Jumeirah Village, is proceeding on track.

The Dhs1.28bn ($348.4m) tower, which is set to commence operations in 2018, is currently 32 per cent complete.

The luxury tower will feature 247 hotel rooms and suites, 221 one and two-bedroom hotel apartments, and 33 four-bedroom hotel apartments all with private pools.