Ambitious vision the first of its kind in regionMokha to get $550 million tourist project [Archives:2004/783/Front Page]

Mahyoub Al-Kamaly
The Al-Kabatily company for oil investment and services in Yemen intends to implement the biggest tourist resort at the port of Mokha, the governorate of Taiz at a cost of approximately $550 million.
It is expected to be the first of its kind in the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf.
The company's chairman of the board of directors Sultan Othman al-Kabatily has affirmed that the resort would include the construction of a residential city composed of 100 villas, 100 chalets and a number of 5-star hotels.
The entire project is expected to be finished in six years.
In a press meeting held recently during the constituent conference of the Arab Organization for tourist development held in Sana'a, Mr al-Kabatily told journalists that the project's objective was attraction of the local tourist and saving for him the sums of money he spends on tourism abroad.
The project also focuses on attracting family tourism in addition to offering services to foreign tourists.
The tourist project is to be situated in the city port of Mokha, renowned of growing the Yemeni coffee in an area called the Wadi al-Malik, which is an area of spacious palm tree groves in a form of crescent.
Mr al-Kabatily has also said that he found an encouragement in the law of investment in Yemen as his company has not faced any hindrances in the presentation of his project.
He added that the goal from building the huge tourist resort was the attraction of tourists to eco-tourism and to serve development in the country.
The Yemeni government supported project is expected to create job opportunities for the unemployed, during the stage of building it and after its operation.
Meanwhile the Arab Company for Tourist Development and Investments, affiliate of the Saudi Bin Laden Group, is preparing for the implementation of a Tourist Village project situated on the mount of Haratha in the city of Ibb.
That project is to be constructed on area of 127,000 square meters at a cost of $25 million. The project comprises a five-star hotel, a group of villas and service utilities.
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