MGM and Bellagio hotels to be built at new resort site in Dubai

US-based MGM Resorts International will open two new hotels in Dubai – an MGM and a Bellagio.

The company, which operates a dozen hotels in Las Vegas, has agreed a deal to advise on and manage a 26-acre “premier destination resort” for Wasl Hospitality, a division of Wasl Asset Management Group.

The resort will contain 2 million square feet of built-up space, including an MGM Hotel, MGM-branded residences and a Bellagio-branded hotel containing a total of 1,000 rooms and 10 villas. There will also be a 500,000-sq-ft theatre, a range of restaurants, museums, a major beach club and adventure zones for both adults and children.

According to a statement from MGM Resorts, the site will “occupy the longest stretch of water­front ever developed in Dubai” along the Jumeirah Beach front.

Work is set to start on the project in the third quarter of 2017 and will take four years to complete.

“We are excited and honoured by the opportunity to introduce our brands in one of the world’s fastest-growing tourist destinations,” said Bill Hornbuckle, president of MGM Resorts.

“This marks the first time we will offer multiple MGM luxury brands at a prime beachfront location.”

Hesham Al Qassim, the chief executive of Wasl Asset Management, said the deal “fulfils Wasl’s mandate to attract global hospitality players to Dubai, where we are constantly striving to raise the bar in the city by offering tourists, residents and visitors ever-more sensational hospitality and entertainment experiences”.

MGM Resorts also owns resorts in other American cities as well as properties in Macau and China. In 2016, the company declared a net profit of US$1.1 billion on the back of a 9 per cent increase in net revenue to $9.5bn. It employs almost 77,000 people worldwide.

Wasl Asset Management is responsible for managing assets in non-freehold areas of Dubai. It has more than 25,000 homes and 5,500 hotel rooms and apartments in its portfolio.

mfahy@thenational.ae

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