Owner of torched hotel in Phnom Penh returns: Sofitel to be built on old site

Copyright 2005 Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Copyright 2005 Bangkok Post, Thailand
Bangkok Post, Thailand

September 21, 2005, Wednesday

TH-HOTEL-20050921

454 words


Owner of torched hotel in Phnom Penh returns: Sofitel to be built on
old site

By Ploenpote Atthakor

PHNOM PENH -- Supachai Verapuchong, deputy managing director of Thai
Nakorn Patana, whose Royal Phnom Penh hotel was badly damaged by
rioters in 2003, is preparing to invest in another hotel in the next
two years.

The businessman, who branched out of the pharmaceutical industry to run
the hotel, was in the Cambodian capital city last week to submit the
blueprint for the new five-star hotel to the Phnom Penh Municipality
for approval.

The Sofitel Phokeethara Convention, Resort and Spa would be a joint
venture worth $ 25 million (one billion baht) with the Accor Group of
France, he said. It will be constructed on the site of Royal Phnom Penh
Hotel, which covers more than 50 rai, on Sothearos Boulevard.

Mr Supachai also owns the five-star Sofitel Royal Angkor in Siem Reap.

The new 240-room hotel will have a 1,600-sq-m ballroom, six convention
rooms and a sports complex, he said.

While his comeback demonstrates confidence in business opportunity of
Cambodia, Mr Supachai said it was necessary for the Cambodian
government to assure foreign investors of security and stability.

"We need to be assured that an incident like the 2003 riot will never
occur again or things will be reversed for another five or 10 years.
That will adversely affect Cambodians," he said.

Boonnam Kulrakampusiri, the minister-counsellor for commercial affairs
at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, welcomed Mr Supachai's new venture,
saying it would contribute substantially to Cambodia's tourism
promotion.

Once completed, it will be one of the top five hotels in Phnom Penh,
along with the InterContinental and Raffles.

Phnom Penh still needs upmarket facilities to serve top-level tourists,
he said.

"There are good tourism and development prospects for the upscale
market. Tourists from Europe and the US are willing to pay," he said.

He also welcomed the replacement of the Royal Phnom Penh Hotel which,
he said, used to be a focal point for Thai officials and expatriates in
the city.

The hotel, together with the Thai Embassy and many Thai businesses,
sustained heavy damage in the 2003 riots, which had been sparked by
false statements attributed to a Thai actress.

The Cambodian government paid compensation for the damage to the
75-room Royal Phnom Penh Hotel and two drug warehouses, estimated at
300 million baht.



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September 21, 2005

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