By Yelena Prusova
The document has been signed by Minsk’s Mayor, Nikolai Ladutko, and Marcel Benhamou, Founder and President of Blue Eagle Private Equity B.V. The future four or five star hotel will be located at the crossing of Kirov Street and Lenin Street, in Minsk, being ready in time for the 2014 World Ice Hockey Championship.
In November 2010, Minsk’s City Executive Committee and the Dutch company signed a memorandum of understanding at the Belarus Investment Forum in Frankfurt am Main, in Germany. The memorandum laid down the intention of the Dutch to build three hotels in Minsk (of three, four and five stars). The building of a hotel at the crossing of Kirov Street and Lenin Street is now being launched.
During the signing of the investment contract, Mr. Ladutko noted, “Much work has been done. As a result, we’ve achieved the signing of a serious document, which takes into account the interests of the investor in full.” He believes that the future hotel’s location is convenient.
Mr. Benhamou stressed that he familiarised himself with Belarus for one year before signing the contract and believes it to be an interesting and serious proposal. “Many competitors would envy me for signing this investment contract,” he asserted, adding that his company plans to build a network of seven hotels in Minsk and throughout other regions of the country. “Our priority is to open our hotels in time for the 2014 World Ice Hockey Championship. We hope that we’ll manage this, with the aid of the city administration and major hotel management brands. We’d like to open three hotels in time for the championship; this is our best scenario.”
Mr. Benhamou noted that an exclusive agreement with the international brand Hilton has also been signed, with Hilton to run the future hotel in Belarus. Mr. Ladutko is delighted that such a high ranking hotel as Hilton is to appear in Minsk, allowing the Belarusian capital to join the global hotel network.
