Belgian hotel group Rezidor has signed an agreement to open a new hotel in Russia. Park Inn Lipetsk, featuring 237 rooms, is under construction and scheduled to open in 2012. 'This hotel marked our 35th signing in 2009. Despite the challenging climate, we could add almost 7,000 rooms to our portfolio across Europe, the Middle East and Africa', said Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of Rezidor. 'At the same time this agreement is a further symbol for our commitment to Russia - this emerging region belongs to our most important markets for future business development', he added.

Rezidor now has over 8,500 rooms in operation or under development in Russia, including nearly 5,000 Park Inn rooms. Lipetsk is located 450 km south of Moscow and has a population of 500,000. It is the capital of the Oblast region and the administrative, industrial and cultural centre of the area.

The Park Inn hotel will be located on a prime site south of the city centre and will include a restaurant, a Paulaner micro-brewery, two bars, as well as conferencing and leisure facilities. The property will be developed by the Russian builder Kuznetskiy Most Development.