Malta earmarked for development of underwater resort hotel

by Franco Aloisio

Malta has been earmarked as one of the locations suitable for the development of an underwater resort hotel. The American company Cala Corporation Inc. has announced plans for an underwater resort hotel which will be built in the waters off the coast of Maui in Hawaii in the near future.

Cala Corporation also plans to build additional underwater resort hotels in other climates such as Belize, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Sicily and Malta.

No further details of the plans for the construction of such a hotel in Malta were disclosed by the company.

Cala Corporation is in negotiations with key players in the international gaming and entertainment industry interested in exploring potential partnerships and alliances for the undersea project.

An undersea hotel would include all facilities usually associated with an normal hotel. The only difference would be that the hotel would be completely immersed in seawater, creating an added incentive and unique attraction for tourists.

Joseph Cala, chairman and CEO of Cala Corporation has been working on this project since 1996 with the assistance of the University of Hawaii School of Oceanography and the internationally renowned architectural firm of Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo.

The latter is the world's leading design consultant for the hospitality, leisure, and entertainment industries. Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii and has offices in Newport, Singapore and London.

Mr Cala, developer and co-founder of the Undersea Resort and Hotel, said: "This project is very important to our company and to me personally. We are gratified with the reception we have received for the Undersea Resort and Hotel project.

"We have been fortunate to attract partners and participants, like Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo and the University of Hawaii as well as leaders in the entertainment industry who believe in the project and have the expertise to help us make it a reality."