Nakheel and Jafza sign deal on new budget hotel offering

Partnership between Jafza and Nakheel Hotels paves the way for sustainable easyHotel.com

8 May 2008 - Dubai, Nakheel, a Dubai World company and one of the world’s largest and most innovative real estate developers, cemented its partnership with Jafza to pave the way for the opening of one of several innovative budget hotels under the easyHotel brand.

The partnership between Jafza and Nakheel Hotels, both Dubai World companies, sets in motion the development of an innovative budget hotel in the up and coming area around the free zone. The easyHotel, located close to Sheikh Zayed Road in Jafza will be a 216 room budget hotel that will deliver an absolutely first class ‘sleep and shower’ experience at an affordable price for visitors to the area. Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of May 2008 with a completion date of June 2009.

Ms. Salma Hareb , CEO Jafza and Economic Zones World said:

“This agreement reflects the strong relationship between Jafza and Nakheel, two of Dubai World’s leading companies. We are delighted to be working in partnership with Nakheel and to be the site of one of the first easyHotels in Dubai. Jafza is one of the world’s most services driven, customer centric free zones. The success of Jafza is driven by our ability to continue to provide innovative services for our customers.”

Nakheel Hotels owns the master franchise for easyHotels in the MENA region. The easyHotel in Jafza will be one of several easyHotels being developed by Nakheel to open in Dubai starting in June 2009.

Joe Sita, CEO of Nakheel Hotels said:

“Nakheel Hotels is proud of its partnership with Jafza. We are excited to start construction on this exciting project in one of the fastest growing areas of Dubai. As the first of many such easyHotels.com developments, Nakheel Hotels is bringing another innovative concept to Dubai and the MENA region through its ownership of the master franchise of easyHotels and tapping into the burgeoning requirements for budget hotels in the Middle East. By working with strategic partners like Jafza, Nakheel Hotels can deliver the best hotels to the market.”

In line with HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s January 2008 resolution on the implementation of green building specifications and standards in the Emirate of Dubai, the easyHotels under development in Dubai are being built to LEED standards. The Dubai easyHotels will be the first budget hotels in the world with sustainability built into the design. The design of easyHotel rooms is unique; it combines aesthetics with durable long lasting materials, which are almost free of maintenance costs. Each ensuite room is approximately 15 square metres, and consists of a well-sprung bed, a high pressure shower unit, a work cubicle, and an activity wall that includes flat screen television and broadband Internet.

Source: Nakheel (http://www.nakheel.com)