Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) and Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI), one of the leading hotel and property resorts investment companies in the Middle East, will develop a $153-million luxury hotel complex with some holiday apartments in Saudi Arabia.
The 7,377-square meter Makati property will have a 300-room Fairmont Hotel, 30-suite Raffles Hotel, and 189 Raffles-branded residences. Both hotels will have spas.

This makes the upcoming complex the single biggest project of its kind in the country. The site is presently used as parking for local jeeps and provincial buses, the latter for Makati workers working just outside Metro Manila.

The five-hour blitz visit of the royal entourage had Vice President Noli de Castro leading local dignitaries at the airbase for arrival ceremonies. The Prince and his party arrived onboard his private Boeing 747.

From Villamor, the party headed for the ALI headquarters in Ayala Avenue where the Prince received a briefing from the economic cluster of the Cabinet, namely Trade Secretary Peter Favila, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, National Economic and Development Authority Director-General Romulo Neri, and Bangko Sentral Gov. Amando Tetangco.

Under the joint venture agreement, the two companies will form an operating company, 20 peexwnr of which will be owned by ALI and 80 perceent by KHI through a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ayala Group.

In turn, a landholding company will also be formed, 60 percent to be owned by ALI and 40 percent by KHI, also through a wholly owned subsidiary of Ayala.

ALI’s top officials led by Fernando Zobel de Ayala and Jaime Ayala met with the Prince, who also paid a visit to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Malacañang.

The project aims to serve the “growing demand for luxury accommodation in the region, and in the Philippines, in particular, given increased investor and business confidence in the country,” ALI chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael said.

“The Fairmont Makati Hotel and Raffles Suites and Residences will enable KHI to generate attractive returns by combining a significant amount of branded residential development with premium hotel brands,” said KHI’s Sarmad Zok.
KHI, which has ownership interests in 33 properties in 19 countries, owns 19 operational hotels and resorts with a total of 4,269 rooms, with 14 more hotels and resorts with a combined 3,952 rooms under construction and/or development.
The multi-million dollar project marks the start of the Ayala Center’s makeover into a world-class business destination as Fairmont and Raffles represent two of the world’s biggest luxury hotel brands.