Observer & Busness 3 Mar 2012 - Oman Daily Observer

23 OMAN SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012
National Hotels signs
MoU with Tawasel
By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — The National
Hotels Co Ltd SAOC (Sheraton
Hotel Oman) has signed a
memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with UAE based
Tawasel International Trading
Company for the operations of
the Sheraton Hotel Oman.
The agreement was signed
by Shaikh Nasser Mohammed
al Hasher and Shaikh Hamed
al Hamed from the respective
organisations. Sheraton Hotel
and Resort is part of Al Hashar
Group, owned by National
Hotels Company Ltd SAOC.
According to the MoU,
Tawasel, with its established
expertise in operating hotels in
the MENA region, will handle
the running of Sheraton Hotel
Oman, which is currently
Jazeera Steel sets sights
on overseas markets
From Page 21
At the weekend, the Sohar
based steelmaker announced a
59 per cent rise in profit, which
jumped to RO 3.030 million in
2011, up from RO 1.903 million
a year earlier.
Total revenues soared 40
per cent to RO 91.196 million,
from RO 64.912 million
in 2010. In volume terms,
sales climbed 27 per cent
to 263,435 metric tonnes in
2011, from 207,261 MT a
year earlier. Production also
rose 26 per cent to 266,991
MT last year, from 211,647
MT in 2010.
Al Rubaie attributed the
By A Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI — Adding yet
another milestone to Le Méridien
Kochi’s laurels, the International
Convention Centre
has been adjudged as the Best
Five Star Convention Hotel at
the National Tourism Awards
for the year 2010-2011. The
award was received by Dr P
Mohammed Ali, Managing
Chairman, Mfar hotels and
Rajesh K Madan, General
Manager, Le Méridien Kochi.
The national tourism award
was held last week at Vigyan
Bhawan in the Indian capital
city of Delhi.
The President of India,
Prathibha Patil was the Chief
Guest. Subodh Kant Sahai,
Minister for Tourism presided
over the function.
Le Méridien as a hotel
played a pivotal role in transforming
Kochi from just a
tourist destination to a dominant
MICE destination, which
has seen many national and
international conferences and
conventions propelling the
being refurbished to match
and offer international luxury
standards.
"Oman is a favoured vacation
destination in the GCC
and the region enjoys a neutral
climate and offers urban
convenience in sync with
close proximity to nature”,
said Shaikh Nasser Mohammed
al Hasher, Chairman of
the Al Hashar Group of Companies.
“World class facilities that
offer luxury hospitality to domestic
and international vacationers
are scarce in Oman
and the re-opening of Sheraton
Hotel Oman will be a step
in the right direction towards
joining hands with the Sultanate
in progressing as a preferred
holiday destination."
The Sheraton Hotel Oman
higher profit to the management’s
cost optimisation initiatives
and effective overhead
management.
“Diversification of raw
material suppliers has helped
the company reduce concentration
risk and control inventory
holdings. As a result, this
positively impacted borrowings
and significant savings
were achieved on interest and
financing cost,” he said.
Al Jazeera’s tube mill
marked another strong year,
with sales volumes increasing
10 per cent over 2010 sales.
“One of the main factors fuelling
Jazeera Steel’s optimism
is the performance of its mer-
city’s room occupancy levels
to a new scale and also gave
the City of Kochi a purpose
and reason for rapid infrastructural
development.
“Our people are our biggest
asset and the award is the
biggest acknowledged for our
efforts and is a great motivation
for us to continue delivering
excellence in conducting
conferences, weddings and
great events at Le Méridien”
said Madan. “The hotel is
honoured to receive the National
Tourism Award and
recognition of such magnitude
brings forth the collective effort
of the entire team at Le
Méridien Kochi and also adds
to the responsibility to continue
maintaining the international
standards to meet guest
expectations”.
Le Méridien Kochi, International
Convention Centre
is always recognised as one
of the leading meetings and
events destination in the global
arena, celebrating more
than 10 years of success, the
International Convention
is currently being refurbished
and Tawasel brings hands- on
experience in running Sheraton
chain, Rocco Forte chain
and Crown Plaza hotels and
resorts in the MENA region.
The hotel is expected to reopen
its doors in a short span
of time.
Shaikh Hamed Al Hamed
of Tawasel International Trading
Company said: "It is a
privilege to have the responsibility
of running the operation
of Sheraton Hotel Oman turning
it into a profitable holiday
and recreational five star facility.
We will ensure that world
class design; service and facilities
are available for hotel
guests. Oman is a great destination
and we aim to create
a success story through this
venture".
chant bar mill (MBM) unit,
which managed to break even
in 2011 within two years of
starting commercial production.
Annual production at the
MBM unit was ramped up by
66 per cent to over 100,000
MT in 2011 and Jazeera Steel
is now targeting a production
of more than 125,000 MT for
2012 at the unit.”
Projects in the pipeline
include like steel making for
billet manufacturing and an
additional slitting line to manufacture
smaller angles and
channels from hot roll material
along with cut-to-length
sheets and plates.
Le Méridien Kochi wins Best
5-Star Convention Hotel award
Centre at hotel Le Méridien
Kochi has set stage to meetings,
incentives, conferences,
exhibitions, launches and
beauty pageants. The facility
to cater to different needs of
different clientele, the capability
to meet the demand of
multiple breakaway halls and
the availability of pre function
facility along with the option
of three outdoor venues over
18 acres of pristine green land
has converted the International
Convention Centre to one of
the finest MICE destination in
the country.
Le Méridien is the first hotel
in Kerala to tap the MICE
business and has hosted conventions
attended by almost
10,000 people. Weddings are
frequent in the state and Le
Méridien stands tall in grabbing
many major weddings of
1500-2000 pax. Le Méridien
Kochi has continuously over
the years participated in various
national and international
travel and trade fairs showcasing
Kochi and Kerala as the
place to visit.