IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) and Magna Holdings Limited have signed an agreement to open the InterContinental Tripoli in the Libyan capital in 2010.

Situated on the waterfront corniche near Green Square in the heart of Tripoli, the 351 room InterContinental Tripoli will offer stunning views across the city and the waterfront. With its prime location close to Tripoli’s central business district, the property will be especially attractive to those visiting the city on business.

Aimed primarily at business travellers, the hotel will feature state-of-the-art meeting space and conference facilities, as well as all the leisure facilities associated with the InterContinental brand, including restaurants, a health club and a spa. Furthermore, the hotel will incorporate 42 InterContinental branded serviced apartments.

The agreement also sees the historic Al Waddan hotel come under IHG’s management, which will open as an upscale boutique 90-room hotel later this year after a significant renovation.

Nabil Naaman, Chief Executive Officer, Magna, said: “We are delighted with our relationship with the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and believe this will put Magna in a favourable position to operate successfully in the Libyan tourism and business service sectors. This strategic relationship with IHG also confirms our pioneering investment strategy and faith in the bright future of Libya.”

Richard Hartman, Managing Director, IHG, EMEA, said: “The growth of the InterContinental hotel brand across the EMEA region and around the world has been outstanding in the past two years. We are extremely proud to announce the signing of this new property in Tripoli, which strengthens our presence in the Middle East and North Africa, an extremely important market for IHG.

“The dynamic growth of the InterContinental product has been fuelled by an enhanced brand position that is highly relevant to today’s travellers and we believe that this new property will continue to strengthen our position in a market to which we are committed.  As such, we are delighted to be working with Magna Holdings Limited on the development of this hotel.”

The announcement of the InterContinental Tripoli consolidates a third year of good growth for the InterContinental brand with the addition of 16 new properties opened across 10 countries over the past two years.  November 2006 saw the introduction of a new generation of flagship properties, with the openings of InterContinental Boston and InterContinental London Park Lane. The brand will continue its global expansion throughout 2007, including three new openings planned in China and the opening of the InterContinental Dubai Festival City.

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