Bahrain's National Hotels Company (NHC), which owns the Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel, made a profit of BD1.4 million last year.
The BD4 million hotel refurbishment project will be completed in July, NHC chairman Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Zayani told the company's annual general meeting at the hotel. He also said tenders for the new BD6.5 million furnished apartment project at the hotel complex would be issued by the end of the year. The company's profit was BD1,403,417 last year, against BD1,413,714 in 2001. "The Diplomat managed to achieve very good results in comparison to the previous years despite the fact that the refurbishment project for the entire hotel's rooms and restaurants started in July last year," said Al Zayani. "In fact, the number of rooms available for sale had significantly reduced by three floors and sometimes four. "To date, we have managed to complete eight out of the 12 floors earmarked for refurbishment. It is expected that the whole project will be completed in July." Work on the Mediterranean restaurant has also been completed, and work has started on the Italian and the Polynesian restaurants. "We have practically completed the design stage of the furnished apartment project," said Al Zayani. "Despite the threat of war we are going ahead with the expansion project. Once the war clouds clears it will be business as usual, we hope. "We expect to put the apartment project for general tender during this year and we have signed with Radisson SAS for taking up the responsibility of managing the project." Another dream project of the company, said Al Zayani, is a multi-million dinar 20-storey tower and a shopping arcade adjacent to the hotel. "Plans are under way to purchase the land for this project in the near future," he said. NHC general manager Abdul Rahman Morshed said all the 246 rooms in the hotel were being renovated to high international standard. The health club will also undergo a total renovation. "The new furnished apartment project will be a 14-storey tower, north of the hotel," he noted. "The project is being designed by Mohammed Salahuddin Consulting Engineering Bureau. There will be 114 apartments of different sizes. Work is expected to start early next year.