Corinthia plans for Benghazi hotel ‘still on’

The Corinthia Group’s plans for the development of a hotel in Benghazi are still on, and it is confident that construction work can start in the near future, a spokesman for the group said yesterday.

He was referring to a report that was published in The Malta Independent on Sunday last Sunday, which quoted a Financial Times report saying that Corinthia had balked on its hotel project in the city, in the wake of the slaying of the US ambassador for Libya a few weeks ago.

The group spokesman confirmed that Corinthia is still planning to build a hotel in Libya’s second largest city. “We are at an advanced stage of planning for the hotel. Part of the existing building on the site where the hotel will be constructed has already been demolished. The actual construction work on the complex will start in the near future.”

According to the Corinthia Group’s website, the fivestar Corinthia Hotel Benghazi was being built on a 7,000 square metre site on the waterfront in central Benghazi, and part of the site housed the former, historic, Al Jazira Hotel.

The hotel’s design, according to the group, “will complement the architectural aesthetics of the surrounding area and be sympathetic to the local environment. The hotel’s 338 rooms will include a number of executive bedrooms, suites and a presidential suite. The hotel will also offer extensive conference facilities, restaurants, a coffee shop, an executive lounge, a business centre, a spa, a gymnasium, a swimming pool and underground parking for over 200 cars.

“The development will also include a number of serviced commercial offices and retail outlets which will help transform the area into a hub of activity.”