KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) hopes the Qatari government will reconsider its plans to build the Harrods Hotel in the capital after cancelling the project in 2015.
Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the construction of the hotel would enhance the image of the country as a tourist destination for foreign tourists.
“Harrods is a great brand and if they decide to revive the project, it’s a good move,” he said.
He said this to reporters after a bilateral meeting with Qatar’s Minister of Economy and Trade, Sheikh Ahmed Jassim Mohammed Al Thani, in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
The Harrods Hotel project, located between Jalan Raja Chulan and Jalan Conlay in downtown Kuala Lumpur, was announced in 2012 as a joint-venture project between Qatar’s investment wing, Qatar Holding LLC, which owns 100% stake in Harrods, with local company Tradewinds Corp Bhd and entrepreneur Tan Sri Desmond Lim Liew Choon.
The plan, which was to open the hotels at sites in key cities such as Kuala Lumpur, New York and Paris, was cancelled in 2015 by Qatar without giving a clear reason.
Mustapa said Malaysia encouraged Qatar to invest in hotels in this country as the investment was one of the important industries in the country’s economy.
He said besides Kuala Lumpur, other destinations that were proposed were Langkawi and Kota Kinabalu which were tourist destinations but still short of hotels.
At the event, Mustapa also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and memorandum of agreement between the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Industry with Qatar Chamber of Commerce.
He also witnessed the exchange of MoU documents between local universities and the centres of higher learning from Qatar. - Bernama
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