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One of the largest integrated tourist ventures in Fiji goes under the hammer today as the Fiji National Provident Fund tries to recover about $80 million it invested in the failed project.
The auctioning of the first stage of the Momi Bay project at the Intercontinental Resort and Spa will be carried out by Bayleys International.
Bayley's General Manager Philip Toogood said a deposit will be required to secure the property once the highest bidder is decided.
He added that more than 120 bidders from around the globe have signed up.
Investors from New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, Malaysia, Sigapore, United Arab Emirates, Korea, India and the United States are expected to place bids to purchase the hotel project.
Meanwhile, in a High Court decision yesterday, Justice John Byrnes ruled that the auction will go ahead after Herbert Construction Limited and landowners, ‘Tokatoka Nasau’, filed for a stay on the auction saying the consent given to FNPF for development was invalid because no consent from the NLTB was obtained for it although it was a dealing in native lease land.
Herbert Construction, which initially started work on the project to build the Marriot Hotel in the Momi area, stopped work because developer Matapo Limited had failed to pay more than $13 million to the company.
The Momi Bay project had a total value of $255 million, which was to involve the development of a 250 room five star hotel, a nine-hole golf course and a golf club house.
