TI’ME Hotels Management has announced its decision to foray into Qatar with the development of its first property. The new 114-room four-star hotel will be located in Wakra, Doha. The nine-storey TI’ME Rako Hotel is set to open in mid-2015 and will feature a grand lobby, two restaurants including an all-day dining outlet, banquet space for 500 guests, a gym, rooftop swimming pool and sauna rooms, several retail outlets and a 460-square metre penthouse suite. “Wakra is a key destination for Doha’s expanding maritime sector. This will place us in prime position to capture port-related business,” said Mohamed Awadalla, CEO, TI’ME Hotels. The Gulf state’s hosting of the 2022 tournament has been the catalyst for US$130 billion worth of infrastructure development with the new Doha airport pegged for a 2014 operational green light and US$65 bn investment into new hotel product totalling around 85,000 rooms to accommodate a forecasted 3.7 million visitors per annum within the next decade. “One of the FIFA World Cup 2022 stadiums will also be sited in Wakra, with the expansion of the existing local football club’s multipurpose venue, and will also be part of the US$35 bn metro and rail network, so the long term commercial potential is substantial,” added Awadalla. Source: Travel Daily