New Development: FIVE STAR HOTEL: This post dedicated to Talha...
The Centaurus complex is a 3 million sq ft (278,700 m²) concept for a mixed-use development in central Islamabad unveiled by Atkins UK. It is currently under construction and expected to be completed by 2008. The centrepiece of the mixed-use scheme, commissioned by Pak Gulf Ltd, is a 37-storey, 350-bedroom seven-star hotel topped by a panoramic restaurant capturing views of both the city and the mountainous skyline above it.
The design also incorporates a 300,000 sq ft (27,870 m²) shopping mall, 250,000 sq ft (23,225 m²) of office space, and more than 300 residential apartments. When complete, the Centaurus will be the second seven-star hotel in the world, and the first in Pakistan.
The building symbolises the growth of Pakistan along with its capital city of Islamabad, which will enable it to host conferences and seminars of international standards.
posted by Usman at ٤:٥٢ م
11 Comments:
adc
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This is really an exquisite building.
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Mayank, I have sent the pictures.
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Zonie, Thanks! It is the combined effort of Pakistani and American Architects.
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as-salam alaykum.
this is sad, almost sickening. i've lived in dubai, home of the world's first seven-star hotel (burj al-arab). from what i've heard, it's not only opulent and over the top but also running in a loss. how in the world are we going to make money off of a monster like this? and don't even get me started on the social implications of the kind of thinking that focuses on seven-star hotels rather than real development (hint: why don't any successful economies or societies have seven-star hotels?).
sorry, a little bitter for my first comment on your blog :)
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ABD, salaam.
From a marketing perspective, a spectacular construction that is synonymous with a country is good publicity for FDI and tourism i.e. Eiffel Towel (France), al-burj (UAE). This building with the beautiful faisal masjid and mountains in the background cannot possibly do any harm to our battered image.
From an economic perspective, this hotel will provide thousands of jobs over it's lifespan. You can ask about the viability of this project with the Arab investors who have put in hundreds of millions of dollars in this enterprise. Clearly they think there is a market for this business and it's multi-purpose functionality. Have you ever been to Islamabad? There is no city like it in all of South Asia.
socially speaking, no foreign investor is going to just hand the poor hundreds of millions of dollars in social programs. Might as well allow them to create jobs. this is fdi money.
I was not aware the UAE was not a successful economy.
- Usman
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i think adb meant that the burj is posting losses.... and i agree with him. You are proposing a trickle down effect caused by the construction of this hotel... but how much is actually going to trickle down? Do you really think they are going to hire the poor living in the rural sections of pakistan? Or are they going to hire people who are degree holders and speak adequate english? Probably the later. So who is going to really benefit? The arab investors who are exploiting the situation in Pakistan ( a mixture of booming economy, corruption at all levels of government and poor enforcement of the law). These investors will take this money back with them to there own countries and not reinvest in Pakistan. Who exactly is going to be staying at this hotel? The mittlions(sic) of tourists that we get every year? The many international business men/women? And the good publicity from this FDI can be easily negated by our other severe social/political/religious problems. (The eiffel tower and Burj were built in countries that had fundamentally sound econoies)Please do not be a mouth piece for the elite and corrupt. Let us refuse their agenda and propose and build our own. One that helps our country and all that live in it.
Talha Akram Bhatti
talha_bhatti@hotmail.com
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I am having some difficulty following your logic.
First you suggest - this hotel is not likely to post a profit but then you complain about the Arab investors not reinvesting those unlikely profits!
If an entrepreneur is assuming the risk of failure and spending 300 million dollars of thier OWN money, are they not entitled to the potential dividends?
Even if the hotel does not make a rupee - will it not hire construction workers, guards, kitchen staff, laundary services, housekeeping and a dozen other labor services?
Furthermore, what is wrong with hiring college educated english speakers? Is the middle class youth not in need of employment?
Try to book a hotel in Karachi, they are very expensive because of supply/demand. Visit the restaurants in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and you will see tables full of Chinese, Central Asian and Arab businessmen. Even if this hotel is a failure, it is the investors (for whom you don't care) that will suffer the consequences.
How are the investors corrupt?
Why should "we build our own"?
Your whole argument boils down to complaining for the sake of complaining.
Salaam.
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ASKM. So usman, I did a little research on your 'seven star' hotel in Pakistan. The one of only two in the world. Guess what? There is no such thing as a seven star rating. Five star is the max. Check out the website of the people who started the star rating system... http://mobiltravelguide.howstuffwork...ls-channel.htm
Secondly, the burj in Dubai is not a seven star hotel either. It was a marketing strategy to show the exclusive and luxurious nature of the hotel. Even its own website calls it a 'five star' hotel. Check it out....
http://www.burj-al-arab.com/guest_services/
Lastly, the 'Centaurus' has a seven star "Plaza"...not a 'seven star' but a five star hotel. So before you go ahead and debunk myths maybe you should do some research on the topics.
Salam and regards,
Talha A. Bhatti
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Talha,
I noticed you completely ignored the counter argument to your initial assertions regarding the macro-economics of this hotel, "Arab exploitation by investment", elitist blogging and other unsubstantiated accusations. Rather than defending you claims, you simply change the subject to make your next negative comment.
Thank you for your VALUABLE research on the completely trivial matter of the seven star plaza versus hotel. I will make this correction.
I am nominating you for Researcher of the Year Award...
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Thanks for the Kudos man!!! But I felt that the mth was aout having a seven star hotel so it made the rest of the argument moot... but I appreciate that you changed it... Thanks
Talha Bhatti
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