Shangri-La, Tanriverdi to build seven-star hotel in Istanbul

A Turkish business conglomerate and an international hotel chain signed a cooperation agreement on Saturday to build a seven-star hotel in Istanbul. Tanriverdi Holding andShangri-La Asia Ltd. signed the agreement in a ceremony, attended by Turkish State Minister for foreign trade Zafer Caglayan at the Dolmabahce Palace.

Caglayan expressed hope that the agreement would lead the way for the Shangri-La Asia to make more investments in Turkey.

The new seven-star Shangri-La Istanbul will be built on the spot of an old tobacco warehouse overlooking the Bosphorus in the Besiktas district. The 14-storey hotel, with seven of them below sea level, is planned to be opened in April 2012. The hotel is estimated to cost $250 million.

Shangri-La Asia Ltd. runs 68 hotels worldwide and Shangri-La Istanbul is among the four hotels to be built in Europe besides Paris, Vienna and London.