By Bianca Capazorio

Port Elizabeth is to get a 300- room hotel alongside the airport as part of the Airports Company of SA's plans to build three hotels in the country before the Soccer World Cup in 2010.

Acsa yesterday appealed to interested parties to submit proposals for building the hotels.

Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth were the three centres named as sites for airport hotels.

The hotels for both Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein are expected to have around 300 rooms, while the new hotel at O R Tambo International is expected to have 1 000 rooms.

"The hotels are expected to be ready before March 31, 2010, for the Fifa Soccer World Cup," Acsa's advertisement read.

The hotels will be funded and owned by Acsa. The hotel operator will lease the building from the company for 30 years. Developers could submit proposals for any of the hotels, the advert said.

"The developer should (already) have developed hotels in excess of 250 rooms, or commercial properties up to the value of R300-million and at least one single commercial development of R100-million," Acsa said.

The hotel operator should have a minimum of five years' relevant experience as an independent entity, or in the case of new companies, at least three executive directors or senior management members with five years' experience each in the relevant disciplines.

The Port Elizabeth airport hotel, earmarked for a 6 000m? site, according to Acsa's website, will be one of a number of hotels being developed with the World Cup in mind.

Already hotels are planned for Marine Drive and Bluewater Bay, and the city's Beach Hotel is also earmarked for a massive expansion and upgrade.

Nelson Mandela Bay has a shortage of 21 193 beds for the 2010 event, according to tourist projections by Match, the event services company mandated by Fifa to be responsible for accommodation. The city requires 27 400 beds for the event, and in June this year had only 6 207.

Acsa has over the past few years been pursuing an aggressive strategy of property development.

The company already owns the InterContinental Airport Sun Hotel at O R Tambo, as well as the property on which the Road Lodge Hotel stands at Cape Town International.

These hotels are in line with Acsa's vision to create what it calls "aerocities" on its website.

The company is also looking to logistics as a key area of property development. Land alongside Port Elizabeth's airport has already been advertised for potential lease by commercial or industrial developers.

An Acsa spokesman yesterday confirmed the project but did not respond to queries regarding the hotel.

The Herald