Nakheel Hotels broke ground this week on its W Bangkok hotel development, the firm's latest project in Southeast Asia.

The 400-room property, to be managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts, is expected to open at the end of 2010, the company said in a statement yesterday.

The hospitality arm of property giant Nakheel has a $40 million (Dh146m) investment in the development, which is a joint venture with Thailand-based Golden Land Property Development.

"We plan to roll out 30 branded budget-hotels in the next three to five years. We are really focused on this particular market. We see many opportunities for growth in Southeast Asia at both ends of the market in the luxury and budget segments," Joe Sita, Chief Executive of Nakheel Hotels, told Emirates Business.

Nakheel Hotels has also partnered with Thai developer Amburaya Resorts to develop the W Retreat and Residences in Koh Samui, Thailand, and has a joint venture in a fund to develop budget hotels – called Tune – in the Asean region.

The company has also announced developments in Indonesia and Malaysia, and is looking at the Philippines, Sita said.

Nakheel Hotels already has significant investments in the budget hotel sector, holding the master franchise rights for easyHotels.com in the Mena region, with the first hotels under development in Dubai. Sita said that Nakheel Hotels' projects in Southeast Asia make up seven per cent of its investment portfolio.

The company is currently managing investments in excess of $3.5 billion.

The W Bangkok will be the first centre-city W Hotel in Southeast Asia, forming a major part of Golden

Land Property's Sathorn Square mixed-use development in Bangkok's business district, Nakheel said in the statement.

The development will also include a 70,000 square metre Grade A office tower with boutiques and shops, the statement said.