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Tue, 31 Aug 2010
SUVA, Fiji (FIJI TIMES) ---- A $90 million deal to resurrect Suva's Grand Pacific Hotel - is expected to be finalised by the end of the week.
The hotel, which lies on prime property in Suva's capital, has been vacant for around 18 years.
Ian Tarututia, the joint chief executive officer of Papua New Guinea's National Superannuation Fund, has confirmed that a deal for the PNG-based operation to take over ownership of GPH could be finalised by the end of the week.
“The total cost of purchasing and rebuilding is around $90million,” he said.
Mr Tarututia said as soon as the transaction was finalised, construction formalities would begin to convert GPH into a five-star luxury business hotel.
“Our board has committed to participate in the purchase of GPH together with our partners, PNG-based Lamana Development," he said.
“We want to start as soon as we can but there are some formalities that have to be completed by the Fiji National Provident Fund who owns the hotel.
“In terms of financing and construction, everything is already in place. For financing we are looking at both, offshore and internally through Bank of South Pacific.
“It's a great location and Suva does not have facilities to deal with business tourism so we hope to cater for that market. We hope to take into account the building as it is and rebuild around it”
Lamana Development's John Paul Chapman said the design had not been finalised but the intent was to build an upmarket hotel.
FNPF CEO Aisake Taito said he would issue a statement at the end of the week.
In its initial call for tenders in 2008, the FNPF said it was seeking to engage joint venture partners to revamp GPH into “a four to five-star international brand heritage, which is estimated to cost $50million”.
Built in 1914 by the Union Steamship Company, the GPH building occupies 1758 square metres of the overall site, comprising 2.14 hectares of land along the foreshore of Suva Harbour.
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