ONE of the twin hotel towers in the city's prime Xintiandi area is set to open its doors on October 1, about five years after the project was launched.

Langham Hotels International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Great Eagle Holdings, announced yesterday that it will unveil The Langham Xintiandi, a 357-room luxury hotel, on National Day as the company moves forward to strengthen its footprint on the Chinese mainland.

The twin towers, where construction was halted for more than a year until the beginning of 2010, have been a long-time eyesore in the area due to their high-profile location and positioning.

Work on the project finally resumed after Hong Kong-based Shui On Group, which originally held a 15 percent stake in the project, agreed to acquire the remaining 85 percent from Leo Investment.

In April, Great Eagle said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it would pay about HK$569.7 million (US$73 million) for a one-third interest in one tower, allowing Langham Hotels (Shanghai) Co to manage the hotel for 20 years.