RIGA - Gunars Kirsons, owner of the Lido chain of restaurants, said he was planning to build a 50 million lat (71 million euro) recreation park in central Latvia, complete with a helicopter landing pad and a hotel in Riga.
"We have bought 260 hectares of land for one lat per square meter by Gaizins Mountain, and are planning to build a leisure center in three years," Kirsons told the Latvijas Avize daily.
Gaizins, located about 200 kilometers east of Riga, is the highest mountain in the country. Kirsons said the center would be erected alongside lake Kakisi.
"We have calculated that at least 50 million lats will be necessary for the project," he said. "I do not have the money, but I do not see any problems for getting the financing. If the idea is worked out in detail, I believe we will get the money. We will create something special there, and all of Europe will get to know it."
Kirsons did not reveal the details about the center itself, but said there were plans to construct a landing pad for helicopters, ensuring a quick arrival from Riga.
"The helicopters will be directly connected to another project in Riga - we are planning to build a 40-story hotel in Riga," he said, adding that this project would also need an investor.
"We would like to design the hotel so that each four to five floors represent a different century, starting from the 16th century. People will be able to choose in which century to live. That is the idea for now, but it can change," Kirsons said.
The company is also planning to build a furniture production and interior design plant, a village of private houses in Kegums and an apartment building for Lido employees in Salaspils.
Kirsons plans to complete all the projects in five years. Lido is Latvia's largest catering company. It runs seven branches, including a large catering and leisure center on Krasta Street in Riga. In 2004, the company posted earnings of 579,700 lats on 16 million lats in sales. The sole owner of Lido is Kirsons.
