A country that has made it off the brand's wish list and onto the drawing board - project Diar Assalam is the first of many at this location.

As of 2010, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts will be represented in Libya as well. A management contract has just been signed with the owning company, the Bank of Commerce & Development, Libya's oldest and largest privately held bank, for an urban resort hotel with over 500 units in Tripoli.

Mövenpick Hotel Diar Assalam will be situated in the most upmarket residential district of Tripoli as part of a multipurpose development whose planned features include a commercial centre and a yacht club.

"It is an honour for us to cooperate with one of the leading hotel chains in the Middle East", says Jamal T. Abdulmalek, Chairman of the Board of Management of the Bank of Commerce & Development. "We are confident that Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts will be very successful in Libya as well."

Situated directly on the waterfront, the upscale resort offers 320 rooms and suites, nine villas as well as 213 serviced apartments. Among these are several restaurants and bars, a conference hall accommodating 400 delegates as well as a spa complex.

"Libya has been high up on our wish list of countries we would like to expand into, and we are very pleased that thanks to our association with the Bank of Commerce & Development we are now able to open our first Mövenpick hotel in the capital", explains Jean Gabriel Pérès, President & CEO Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. "Our aim is to realise additional projects in Libya with the same owner in the near future."