UAE’s Eagle Hills to Develop Tourism Projects in Indonesia

Indonesia’s Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) with the UAE-based property company Eagle Hills to develop tourism infrastructure in the Southeast Asian country.

The $3 billion agreement covers development of hotels, airports and tourism destinations, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday coinciding with the visit of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to the UAE.

The MoU was signed by Indonesia’s Minister of SOEs Erick Thohir and the Chairman of Eagle Hills and Founder of Emaar Mohamed Ali Rashed Alabbar. The UAE president H H Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Indonesian president Joko Widodo oversaw the signing of the MoU.

This collaboration is expected to open up new investment opportunities in Indonesia’s tourism and infrastructure sectors, while also encouraging national economic growth and job creation. “The Ministry and Eagle Hills have agreed to cooperate with an investment value of up to $3 billion in Indonesia’s tourism and infrastructure ecosystem,” Erick said.

Erick explained the important aspects of this collaboration include comprehensive investment in the development of hotel properties, airport areas, and tourism destination ecosystems. Eagle Hills is also committed to transferring knowledge through joint studies, workshops, and training programs, he averred.

Eagle Hills was also ready to help develop airport infrastructure, renovate and develop state-owned hotels to meet international standards as part of developing new tourism destinations.

“I am optimistic that the collaboration would further accelerate tourism and this MoU represents a turning point for the country’s tourism sector,” Erick said.

One Year Validity

According to Erick, the MoU is valid for one year, with the possibility of an extension through a mutual agreement. No timeframe has been set for the planned investment billion and has provided flexibility in its implementation.

On his part, Mohamed Ali Rashed Alabbar said Indonesia has great potential due to its tourism resources and destinations.

He assessed that this collaboration marks an important milestone for Indonesia’s efforts to attract foreign investment and expertise to strengthen its tourism industry which has the potential to strengthen Indonesia’s tourism ecosystem in the coming years.

“We believe Indonesia can become competitive and increase the contribution of the tourism sector to GDP. Eagle Hills wants to support this effort,” he said

Eagle Hills has taken up several multi-billion dollar projects in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the latest one in Asia. These projects are located in the UAE, Egypt, Albania, Croatia, Bahrain, Jordan, Ethiopia, Latvia, Morocco, Oman and Serbia.

Eagle Hills has committed $1.5 billion to build a golf resort in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, $4 billion to develop real estate across Bahrain, $3 billion to transform the waterfront of Riga, the Latvian capital, and $5.5 billion to revive a downtrodden area of Budapest, in Hungary.