Ritz-Carlton postpones US$65 mln hotel project in Indonesia

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and the Sahid Group have decided to shelve a resort and hotel project on Bintan island south of Singapore due to the global financial crisis. 

The Ritz Carlton planned to build the first five-star hotel in the Lagoi resort area with an investment of around US$65 million this year, PT Bintan Resort Cakrawala, the operator of the resort area, said. 

Yanti Sukamdani, a commissioner of the Sahid Group, said despite the postponement, the Lagoi project will remain the main target of expansion of its hotel business. 

In 2008, around 397,000 tourists visited Lagoi and this year the number is expected to be at least the same, Asad was quoted as saying by the newspaper Bisnis Indonesia.