The STO Hotel at Hulhumale’ has received proposals from five different countries, including China and India.
A senior official of STO has stated that the proposal was given by countries whose sole intent was not to simply purchase the building. There are proposals also given with the plans of turning the hotel into a joint venture.
The countries which have submitted the proposal include China, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, and a local Maldivian company.
A total of 10 companies have expressed interest to the hotel, however, only five have submitted the proposal.
The Managing Director of STO, Mr Hussain Amru has stated in a news conference that there have been ongoing discussions between STO and the submitters of the proposals. He further stated that information regarding the companies has not been publicized yet. A temporary agreement is made once the companies once the companies submitted the documents, and the information is provided upon signing.
The decision to sell the STO Hotel was first made in 2016.
During their annual general meeting, the former Managing Director of STO, Mr Ahmed Shaheer announced that there have been discussions conducted between the interested parties and STO. The hotel was under an agreement with The American Company, Carlson Hotel Group, in 2008.
The building of the hotel took place in the year 2012 and a loan of USD 30 million was taken from the Thai Agzib bank for the construction.
However, due to unforeseen reasons, the construction of the hotel has been put to a halt. About 70% of the construction has been finished. The hotel was intended to be run by the Hilton Hotel Brand under the name “Radisson Blu”.