Hyatt to run $200m Fu Wah-built Auckland luxury waterfront hotel

The president of Beijing-based Fu Wah International Group, which today launched plans for its $200 million luxury waterfront hotel on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour, says his company is also exploring other projects in New Zealand.

Chiu Yung says the new hotel, his group’s first project in this country, will be a landmark property on the waterfront, particularly for its high environmental standards.

The group will invest $200 million in the project, with $2.5 million committed to the development of a public space and art display in the area around the hotel in Wynyard Quarter, to give people access to the marina and water.

“We see significant potential and want to be long-term investors in high-quality projects [in New Zealand],” Mr Chiu says.

Mr Chiu was speaking at a function held at part of a state luncheon for visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“We are grateful we were able to mark the project by unveiling the model at an event involving China’s president and New Zealand’s prime minister. This is very much a partnership between our two countries.”

Fu Wah chairwoman Madam Chan Lawai says New Zealand has always been friendly to China and noted it is one of the first countries to have signed a trade agreement with China.

“The legislative environment here is ideal, which is a factor that attracts us to invest in New Zealand,” Madam Chan says. “I believe the bilateral collaboration between China and New Zealand will definitely be fruitful."

The function also saw the announcement of Hyatt to manage the hotel under the luxury Park Hyatt brand, adding to that brand’s network of hotels in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, and throughout Asia, Europe, the United States, and Africa. Mr Chiu says Fu Wah has recently invested into Hyatt’s Melbourne hotel. “Its commitment to five star excellence dovetails with the market niche that fits a hotel with the significant features of this offering.”

The hotel, being built by Fu Wah in partnership with Waterfront Auckland, will be located on the Team NZ site on Halsey St, looking out on the Viaduct Harbour and Te Wero Bridge. The six-storey hotel will have a total floor area of 25,000sq m with 190 rooms, a ballroom, multifunction room and business centres, entertainment facilities including a rooftop restaurant, and a gym/health centre and day spa.

 “The site of the hotel is special – right on the water of one of the world’s finest harbour settings – so we feel a responsibility to build a landmark hotel, Mr Chiu says.

Waterfront Auckland chief executive John Dalzell says the five-star international quality hotel is an exemplar project of what the Wynyard Quarter revitalisation is all about.

“The bar was set high with this project: an exceptional design to complement the award winning designs of other buildings and public spaces delivered to date; an investor that was willing to look long term; and an appreciation of the importance of building sustainably.

“Fu Wah has stepped up on all accounts and the result will be a true international standard hotel that, over time, will become a key catalyst for economic activity on the waterfront and the Auckland region as a whole.”

The hotel will start construction next year and is expected to open two years later.