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n a bid to meet the growing demand for tourist accommodation facilities, PT Sixty Six Paradise Investasi (SSPI) is building a condo hotel (condotel) in the resort island of Bali with a total investment of about Rp 370 billion (US$40.7 million).

SSPI president director I Made Wiranatha said in Jakarta that the condotel would be built on the 8,500-square-meter complex in Kuta, the former site of the company’s legendary nightclub Double Six and Bacio Club and a bungee jump, which were closed recently.

SSPI president director Wiranatha said on Thursday in Jakarta that the construction began on Dec. 21 and it was expected to end in November 2013.

“We need Rp 370 billion investment overall to construct the condotel, but we can start the construction with the Rp 150 billion loan,” Wiranatha said after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing between SSPI and the publicly listed Bank Victoria International Tbk. (BVI).

Bank Victoria agreed to provide loans worth Rp 150 billion to partially finance the construction of the condotel. SSPI also hopes to raise an additional Rp 220 billion in loans from other banks for the condotel.

SSPI director I Putu Oka Samadi said that the condotel, which will be named “66 Suites”, would replace the two clubs and the bungee jump site in the 8,500 square-meter complex because demand for accommodation facilities in Kuta continued to increase.

“This area is still a favorite place for visitors to spend their nights during their holidays in Bali,” Samadi said.

The president director Wiranatha said that SSPI decided to build a condotel instead of hotel or villa because in Jan. 5 this year, Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika enacted a moratorium on construction of hotels and villas in the southern part of Bali especially in Denpasar, Gianyar and Badung regencies.

The moratorium aims to redirect the construction of villas and hotels to the Northern and Eastern part of Bali, as a part of the Bali government’s plan to develop tourism in these areas.

Wiranatha continued by saying that the condotel would consist of five stories and it would have 137 rooms and eight penthouses. “A room will be around 86 square meters to 115 square meters, while a penthouse will start from 115 square meters,” he explained. (fem)