The Royal International Hotel, located at Fua'amotu near Tonga's international airport, is finally on its way to completion, and an official opening date has been set for the end of September, before the start of the Pacific Forum Meeting.

'Etuini Mo'ungaloa, the project manager said yesterday, that phase one of the construction, which included 40 - 50 rooms, one Royal Suite, the lobby, a coffee house and a restaurant had been completed.

The hotel has been under construction, off and on, for many years.

However, Masaso Paunga, a consultant on the project, said that work on phase two and three were now on schedule and the hotel complex will have 160 rooms when it is completed.

Phase two of the construction includes the finishing of the rooms to be furnished with furniture from China, Malaysia and Singapore.

Phase three will include the construction of a shopping arcade, convention centre, bowling facility, swimming pool and a children's playing area, as well as staff accommodation.

'Etuini said that about 50 rooms had been booked for the Forum meeting and he expected the bookings to go up as we get closer to the meeting.

He said that so far the investment on the Hotel is about $20 - 30 US million, "but when it is fully completed, the total investment will be about $30 million pa'anga."

The construction of the hotel started in 1992, but was left unfinished when the owner of the hotel Dr Sam Wong encountered some financial difficulties. The construction stopped and started several times.