Dubai government entity Wasl Asset Management plans to open 15 hotels in the emirate by 2019, its CEO, Hesham Abdulla al-Qasim, has said.

Speaking at the Arabian Hotel Investment Summit (Ahic) in Dubai on 6 May, Al-Qasim said the first will be the Mandarin Oriental hotel.

It will also open two Hilton-branded four-star hotels with an average of 200 rooms each, along with the first Hampton hotel. The budget hotel will be located opposite Dubai International airport’s Terminal 2, and with 400 rooms, it will be the biggest Hampton hotel in the world.

Al-Qasim said two hotels will open this summer and another two next year. Once all 15 are open in 2019, the company will have added 5,000 rooms to its portfolio.

Wasl Asset Management was formed in 2007 to manage hotels, golf courses and retail properties in Dubai. It inherited seven properties with a total of 2,200 rooms, which has since expanded to 12 hotels with 5,000 rooms.