Above: the groundbreaking ceremony ({Photo: OPDR)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

A new Intercontinental hotel project has broken ground in Santo Domingo.

The new Intercontinental franchise is the brainchild of Grupo Poma, which is based in El Salvador. The company is building the hotel through its Real Hotel and Resorts division, which currently operates 19 hotel properties in the Western Hemisphere.

The Real Intercontinental Santo Domingo is expected to have 227 rooms. It will be located in the Piantini neighbourhood of the capital.

“Real Hotels and Resorts is very careful to select markets where it seeks to invest; we look for dynamic markets, economically active in growth, that offer us sustainable confidence for the future” said Fernando Poma, CEO of the real estate division of Grupo Poma. “We found that in the Dominican Republic.”

Ricardo Poma, head of Grupo Poma, said the project was about expanding the Intercontinental brand in the region.

“Grupo Poma is in the country for a long-term stay,” he said.

The project could generate as many as 1,000 jobs in the construction phase and 270 direct jobs upon completion, according to Poma.

Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina was on hand for the launching ceremony this weekend.