Rolando Gonzalez-Bunster, WIN Group, join to develop much-needed hotel

Heritagekonpa Magazine

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, -- Argentine entrepreneur Rolando Gonzalez-Bunster, President & CEO of Basic Energy Ltd., as well as numerous other diversified entities, along with Haiti-based WIN Group, one of the country's largest enterprises, today announced an agreement to develop a 240-room hotel with conference facilities directly adjacent to Port-Au-Prince's Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport.

The property, scheduled to break ground by the end of 2010, has an 18-month construction window and will be Haiti's first airport hotel. The hotel, which is yet to be named, will be independently operated.

The fully-enclosed, $33 million project will be developed on a 5.3 acre parcel (2.14 hectares), and will be completely self-contained, with on-site power plant, water treatment, sewage, and related facilities.

Construction will be achieved through a combination of standard construction methods and pre-fabricated processes.  The site allows for future development, specifically commercial office and retail outlets.

The amenity-rich, seven-story property is being designed by OBM International, a 70+ year-old full-service design-consulting firm with vast experience in the hotel industry.  The property will feature full conference facilities with capacity to accommodate up to 400 individuals for a single event.  It will also include numerous break-out rooms, expanded food and beverage outlets, work-out center, swimming pool, spa facilities and lounges, all within lush, tropical landscaping, and will be built to meet or exceed all international earthquake standards.

"We recognize the importance of having facilities that can house individuals during the rebuilding process," said Gonzalez-Bunster, whose holdings include energy investments in neighboring Dominican Republic.  "It is currently extremely challenging to secure accommodations since so much of the infrastructure was decimated by the earthquake."

"This is such an important project on so many levels," adds WIN Group Managing Partner Youri Mevs.  "Not only will it provide badly-needed hotel and conference facilities, but will employ hundreds of local workers in desperate need of generating revenue to support themselves and their families."

"We are pleased with the opportunity to be part of such an integral project," states Douglas A. Kulig, AIA, CEO of OBM International.  "The hotel will be elegant, with a distinct Creole feel, as well as provide an all-inclusive element for its guests from the moment they pass through the property's entry-gate."

"Our goal is to encourage long-term sustainable investment in Haiti," notes President Bill Clinton, UN Special Envoy to Haiti and co-chair of the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission (IHRC).  "An adequate network of hotels is crucial to the country, and this venture is one example that the numerous facets needed to rebuild Port Au Prince are slowly getting under way."