Kathmandu will soon have a new five-star hotel, the Sheraton Kathmandu Hotel. The ground-breaking ceremony for the Rs 8 billion, 17-storey luxury property, located in the heart of the city’s posh district, is slated to be held on Saturday.

The promoter MIT Group Holdings Nepal, a member of the Ghale group of companies which has diverse operations in Australia and other countries, said that Prime Minister Sushil Koirala was scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the project.

The Sheraton Kathmandu Hotel will be located on Kantipath adjacent to the office of Keshar Library, opposite the west gate of the Narayanhiti Palace Museum. The hotel, which is due to open in February 2018, will be spread over 14 ropanis of land.

US-based Starwood Hotels and Resort Worldwide Inc, one of the world’s largest hotel companies that owns, operates, franchises and manages hotels and resorts, will manage the hotel under its Sheraton brand. The MIT Group had signed an agreement with Starwood last year.

The new hotel will offer 218 suites and guest rooms, a health club, spa and retail outlets and provide 450 new jobs. It will also feature a 1,000-seat conference hall which will be the biggest hall in Kathmandu, the group claimed. In addition, there will be two conference rooms, three meeting rooms and a board room.

“We expect that Nepal will see improved business activities and economic growth in the days ahead that has encouraged us to invest in the hospitality sector,” said Shesh Ghale, an Australian-based Nepali millionaire and owner of the project.

As round-the-year occupancy of Nepal’s five-star hotels remains a big concern, Ghale said that an improved business environment was also likely to put Nepal on the map of quality tourist destinations. The Tourism Ministry’s statistics show that Nepal’s five-star hotels encountered a glut of rooms in 2013 due to a proliferation of new accommodation ranging from guest houses to home stays which pulled away potential customers from luxury properties.