Protea Hotel, a subsidiary of Marriott International, on Monday announced the opening of a new 90-room facility in Owerri, Imo State.
A statement from Marriott International, Inc. multimedia content made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja said new branch known as Protea Hotel by Marriott, Owerri Select Owerri Select, is to further consolidate its presence in the country.
The 90-room hotel was developed by African Capital Alliance, a leading investment firm, and Kunoch Limited.
Imo State is commonly referred to as the “Heartland” and also regarded as the entertainment capital of Eastern Nigeria.
Commenting on the opening of the hotel, Mr. Volker Heiden, Vice President Protea Hotels by Marriott, Marriott International said: “The opening of Protea Hotel by Marriott, Owerri Select, illustrates our confidence in the potential of Nigeria.
Heiden said this is in line with our commitment to grow in strategic secondary cities across the continent.
“The recent expansion of the city’s airport, will give the city better accessibility, which we are confident will further drive business travel.”
Also, Mr. Obiora Nwogugu, Principal and Head of Real Estate at African Capital Alliance added, “This new hotel is an important addition to the hotels we already own in the cities of Lagos and Benin in Nigeria, and Takoradi in Ghana.
“We are pleased to partner yet again with Protea Hotels by Marriott, which enjoys strong regional brand equity and awareness coupled with the global distribution of Marriott International.”
He said that Africa which has been described as ‘the continent of opportunity for the 21st century’ would continue to be an attractive investment proposition for many global corporations including the hotel industry.
Marriott International, a leading hotel operator on the continent, currently operates over 140 hotels in 20 countries.
It is targeting a projected growth by 2022 of over 200 Hotels with more than 36,000 rooms across operating and pipeline hotels.
(Source: NAN)