Radisson looking for opportunity to open 5-star hotel in Warsaw by 2002

Scandinavian-American hotel network Radisson-SAS plans to open a 5-star hotel in Warsaw in 2002. The company has been present on the Polish market for eight years, but has so far owned only one 4-star hotel in Szczecin. Competitors' expansion has forced the company to start new investments. Radisson is planning to open a hotel in the first half of 2002, but it would be impossible to construct a new hotel in such a short period. One possibility is that Radisson will takeover a hotel already under construction in Warsaw by Skanska which was being prepared for Hilton but who cancelled the contract half year ago. Neither party wants to comment on that possibility, but Skanska said it has found another investor. "We signed an agreement for managing two estates in Warsaw. One will be a 330-room hotel and the other one will be located next to the hotel - an apartment building," said Radisson spokeswoman Evelyn de Glass. Observers estimate the cost of building a hotel is zl. 280 million. (Puls Biznesu, page 1, 4)