Qatar “Conquers” Málaga’s Port With A 35-Storey €100M Hotel

26 November 2015 – El Confidencial

Just like in Madrid with the Cuatro Torres and in Sevilla with Torre Pelli. A hotel is going to definitively change the skyline of Málaga. A group from Qatar is going to invest €105 million in a luxury 35-storey five-star hotel in the Port of Malaga. The project, involving 350 rooms, will be modelled on the Sail Hotel in Barcelona, with an average occupancy rate of 80% and an average room rate of €300 per night. On Monday, the Port Authority of Málaga approved the start of the administrative concession to drive the business initiative, led by the company Andalusian Hospitality II SL, whose sole director is Fakhroo Abdulla Darwish AD, according to data obtained from the Commercial Registry in Málaga.

(…). Andalusian Hospitality II SL has already deposited €1.8 million as a guarantee, equivalent to 2% of the value of the construction project. At least one other business group is interested in constructing a hotel in the port area. (…).

However, the process has barely begun. Following the publication of the applications made by the aspiring bidders in the BOE, modifications need to be made to the Port’s Special Plan, which must be approved by Málaga’s Town Hall and by the Council of Ministers, as required by the Ports’ Law, since the process involves the construction of a hotel in the port, as happened in the case of the iconic Sail Hotel in Barcelona and another hotel in Alicante.

The Civil Aviation authority has limited the height of the building to 175 metres. (…).

Málaga’s hotel supply

“The hotel could become a destination in itself”, said Paulino Plata, the President of the Port Authority of Málaga. The head of the Málaga port values the project’s significant potential to generate employment (“double the number of jobs that would be created by a four-star hotel”, he says), although he did not want to give a specific figure. But, is there demand for a hotel like this? Between 2003 and 2013, the supply of hotels in the city of Málaga doubled and the average occupancy rate rose to 66%. The best year was 2014.

The Port Authority of Málaga also views the project favourably as a way of enabling it to avoid the losses that are dragging it down since the decline in container traffic. They calculate that they could receive an annual fee of €1 million, “which could cancel out our losses”, admits Plata.

José Seguí is the architect who has been commissioned by the Qatari company. Sources close to his office stated that it was “too soon” to know any details about his plans for the hotel. (…). “This is just the beginning of a long process”, added the same sources.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Agustín Rivera)

Translation: Carmel Drake