The prequalified companies are Besixof Belgium, Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC), Cyprus' Joannou & Paraskevaides (Overseas), Bouyguesof France, Samsung Corporationof South Korea and SAEof France, which refurbished the existing 588-room hotel in the mid-1990s.

The project will involve the construction of a new wing on the existing site. Scheduled for completion in the first half of 2004, the new building will have a built-up area of 51,000 square metres, with 285 rooms, in addition to conference facilities, restaurants and a multi-level underground car park. The main consultant working on the scheme is the UK-based Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo.