The developer is now seeking consultants to prepare a detailed masterplan for the project, which will be the country's biggest ever tourist development. Preliminary plans prepared by the local Millennium Strategy Companyinclude a ski resort, several golf courses, an entertainment centre, three residential villages, including an environmentally friendly eco-village, and an international sports village. Al-Salam says the resort will cater for about 60,000 visitors a year. The developer will issue tenders in the autumn for infrastructure construction contracts.

Al-Salam, which is wholly owned by local financier Jean Abi Rached, and Saudi Arabia's Aqar Holding Groupare each providing 25 per cent of the equity for the development. The Swiss-based EFG Private Bankhas been appointed to raise the remaining 50 per cent through the issue of global depositary receipts. The bank is to start approaching potential investors in late April. Al-Salam is hopeful it can attract further investment in the site through the sale of sub-plots to other hotel and theme park developers.

Despite receiving the support of President Lahoud and Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, the project has sparked controversy in Beirut, where some politicians are unhappy about the perceived sale to foreign investors of such a large area of land. Others are unhappy about the environmental impact of the scheme.

'We expect many hurdles, mainly environmental,' says an Al-Salam source. 'But we are keen to make this as environmentally friendly as possible. One of our first projects will be to plant about 2 million trees. We have also included an eco-village in the masterplan, which will be the first of its kind in the country.'