Jakarta. Abu Dhabi-based real estate firm Eagle Hills recently agreed to help develop Indonesia’s tourism ecosystem in an investment deal worth up to $3 billion. 

Eagle Hills’ chairman Mohamed Ali Rashed Alabbar signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir in Dubai on Tuesday local time. This MoU was among the deals that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo brought home from his state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

According to Erick, the scope of work encompasses the development and renovations of state-owned hotels, airports, as well as the tourist destination ecosystem. This includes helping the state-run hotels to meet international standards. Erick, however, did not give the details on which state-owned hotels Eagle Hills would partner with. Eagle Hills also planned on sharing their know-how through joint studies, workshops, and training programs.

“The MoU will be valid for a year with the possibility of an extension if both parties agree. There is no specific timeframe on the $3 billion investment, and this initiative seeks to give [Eagle Hills] flexibility in its implementation,” Erick was quoted as saying in a recent press statement.

Alabbar, who is also the founder of Burj Khalifa’s developer Emaar, welcomed the partnership. He said: “We believe Indonesia can be competitive and can boost its tourism sector’s contribution to the national gross domestic product [GDP]. Eagle Hills wish to support these efforts.”

Indonesia wants to attract 17 million foreign tourists throughout 2024. About 5.2 million international travelers visited Indonesia in January-May 2024, meaning that it had only reached 30.6 percent of the target. The government aims to have the tourism sector make up 4.5 percent of the GDP this year. Indonesia also reported that its tourism and creative economy sectors had recorded around $3.6 billion in investments throughout the last year.

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