Announcement of IFC Investment in Hotel Camino Real S.A., El Salvador on February 13, 1969

I .•I ,, •• . HOLD FOR RELEASE . . INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION . 1 8 1 8 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 IFC News Release No. 69/4 SUBJECT: IFC Investment in Hotel For Use in Morning Newspapers Camino Reals.A., El Salvador of Thursday, February 13, 1969 IFC, West Coast Firm Sponsoring New Salvadoran Convention/Tourist Hotel The International Finance Corporation, a World Bank affiliate,* announced today that it will provide, together with Western International Hotels Company of Seattle, a substantial part of the funds for a new 224~room, first class hotel in San Salvador. IFC committed up to $933,400 to Hoteles s.A., a company formed to build and operate the new hotel, to be known as Hotel Camino Real. The Camino Real is • expected to cost $3.7 million. Sponsors of the Camino Real, in addition to IFC and Western International Hotels, are the Salvadoran real estate development company, Financiera Roble S.A., and 12 Central American compan.ies and private individuals. Western International, which is providing part of the finance for the San Salvador project and will undertake both development and management responsibili- ties, already manages some 65 hotels in a number of countries, including Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela. Western International will be jointly respon- sible with Roble for developing plans, coordinating and implementing the project, and Western will be respon~ible for the commercial management of the Camino Real and for training personnel. (more) • * IFC is the affiliate of the World Bank that invests in private industry in developing member countries.  - 2 - • Hotel Camino RrJal will have convention as well as tourist facilities. It will be the largest hotel in San Salvador and will increase first class accom1ri~dar tion in the city by 60 per cent. Construction of the Camino Real will begin in mid-year with completion scheduled for early 1971. It will be located on a five acre site in the primP. 11iramonte residential area, a few minutes from the business district and with easy access to San Salvador's airport, which handles 80 international flights wi::ekly. The Camino Real Hotel will be eight stories high and fully air conditioned. Public facilities are to include one of Central America's largest convention banquet rooms, seating 400 diners, as well as four smaller meeting rooms, a specialty dining room, cocktail lounge, coffee shop, swimming pool and tenni.s • courts. Small shops will be located off the main lobby. The Camino Real is one of a network of complementary hotels being construct~. . J in principal cities of the Central American Common Market area. Tourism has become an increasingly importarteconomic development tool in a number of countries because it opens up a relatively large number of jobs and because it is a quick foreign exchange earner. Camino Real wil 1 generate. $!.2 million in foreign exchange annually and employ a staff of 270, almost all of whom will be Salvadorans. The tourist attractions of El Salvador include a year-round warm climate, picturesque scenery, virtually untouched beaches, impressiYe volcanos, ocean and fresh water fishing and the ruins of ancient civilizations . • (more) ' • - 3 - Equity investors and their commitments to Camino Real are: Financiera Roble, $820,000 equivalent; Central American private investors, $280,000 equivalent; IFC, $200,000; Western International Hotels, $200,000. Lenders to Camino Real are: Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador, through its agent Financiera de Desarror , y Inversion S.A., $1.36 million equivalent; IFC, $600,000; suppliers' credits, $240,000. Any cost overrun up to $300,000 will be shared by IFC, Roble and Western. Any additional cost overrun more than $300,000 will be assumed by Roble and Western. IFC's overrun and shortfall connnitment is $133,400 • • •