Marriott today signed an agreement with Jamuna Builders to operate the 700-room JW Marriott Hotel Dhaka.

Jamuna Builders is a real estate sister concern of the Jamuna Group - Bangladesh’s largest diversified conglomerate.

The hotel will be part of a mixed-use development that will also include retail and office components, and construction of the hotel is already under way.

Speaking at the signing in Dhaka Simon Cooper, Marriott International’s president and managing director Asia Pacific, said: “We are delighted to be working with Jamuna Builders Limited to open this wonderful JW Marriott hotel in Dhaka.

“Bangladesh has a thriving economy and the country’s GDP has been growing at approximately six per cent a year for the past five years.

“We absolutely believe that now is the right time to bring our luxury JW Marriott brand to Bangladesh and in Jamuna Builders Limited we have an owner with a great vision and drive to make this a truly stunning hotel in a great location.”

The JW Marriott Dhaka will be located in an emerging location in the middle of the city and will feature three restaurants, two bars, a spa with eight treatment rooms, and 2,280 square meters of meeting space.

The hotel is expected to be a prime destination for luxury dining and will become the social centre in Dhaka.

Nurul Islam, Jamuna Group’s chairman, said: “Considering the huge growth of international business transactions in Bangladesh, especially in Dhaka Mega City and the present economic growth, the number of existing international hotels is not enough to meet the demand.

“The existing service facilities and amenities in hotel and tourism industry cannot completely meet the total demand of business travellers and tourists.

“We feel that to meet the growing demand of this service industry, we should contribute and we have started developing the largest five star hotel in Bangladesh – the JW Marriott hotel, in conjunction with Marriott International.”