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Nuku’alofa’s International Dateline Hotel.

Photo: Dev Nadkarni

One of the South Pacific’s most iconic hospitality properties, the International Dateline Hotel in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, is set to receive a facelift and an upgrade. The Government of Tonga and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, are inviting bids for the renovation.

The hotel gets its name because of its unique geographical position, sitting on the 180th parallel of the international dateline, 12 hours ahead of Greenwich mean time. The International Dateline Hotel, which is Government-owned, is the largest hotel in the country, with 125 rooms.

Built in the mid-1960s, the hotel’s existing facilities include a restaurant, bar, a swimming pool, meeting facilities and an entertainment venue. All rooms have attached bathroom facilities. However, the property requires comprehensive redevelopment to be brought to a three-and-a-half to four-star standard.

“We want the International Dateline Hotel project to play a key role in the development of Tonga’s tourism industry, availing from private sector expertise. We expect that once re-developed, the hotel will attract high-end customers including tourists and business conference visitors in Tonga given its proximity to the Fa’onelua Convention Centre,” Tatafu Moeaki, Chief Executive Officer for the Ministry of Tourism, Labour and Commerce said last week.

IFC is acting as Lead Advisor on the structuring and implementation of a public-private partnership for the renovation. “Tonga is making good progress in the tourism sector and IFC is pleased to help the Government attract a high quality private partner who can restore the International Dateline Hotel and make it, once again, an iconic Pacific tourist destination,” Gavin Murray, Regional Manager Pacific, IFC, said.

“There will be an international competitive bidding process and I encourage interested parties to consider how they could best restore and operate hotel, and then submit an Expression of Interest,” Mr Murray said.

All bidders must have experience developing and operating hotels. Expressions of Interest should be written in English and include a profile of the company/group, details of relevant experience, qualifications and financial resources available. The EOI should be sent to both the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Tonga and IFC by August 12, 2013.

Once the Expression of Interest is received, interested parties will be provided with an Information Memorandum and notified when a formal request for proposals is issued. It is expected that the tender will be awarded in October 2013.