Emaar eyes talks over $600m island resort

Emaar Properties will meet with Indonesian authorities in early 2010 to address progress on its $600m planned resort development near Bali, the Dubai developer told Arabian Business on Tuesday.

The Jakarta Globe newspaper last week reported that Indonesian government officials appeared to be distancing themselves from Emaar as their joint venture agreement ran out on December 31.

The $600m Lombok project, launched by the former Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla in May 2007, is planned to be a 1,200-hectare resort located at the Kuta and Tanjung A’an beaches.

The project is a joint venture between Emaar, the state-owned Bali Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC) and local governments.

In June 2009 at a meeting in Dubai, the Indonesian Government extended the joint venture between Emaar Indonesia and PT Pengembangan Pariwisata Bali (Persero), a government entity, to develop The Lombok Project by the end of the year.

"Emaar is working with Indonesian authorities with a focus on addressing the final pending areas, primarily in relation to transfer of available land. The two parties have agreed to meet in Jakarta in early 2010 to agree on the next steps regarding The Lombok Project," Emaar said in a statement.

“Communication between Emaar and BTDC is still good. I think the plan could still go forward,” Hilmi Gasim, assistant to Alwi Shihab, the special Indonesian presidential envoy to the Middle East, told the Jakarta Globe.