The two hotels being built in Stevens Road by developer Oxley Holdings will likely open by the end of this year.

The $900 million project received its temporary occupation permit on Aug 3.

Visitors can choose from the 254-room Novotel hotel or the 518-room Mercure, which are both near Scotts Road and the Orchard Road shopping district.

Oxley executive chairman and chief executive Ching Chiat Kwong said in a statement: "...Singapore's hospitality market is expected to remain strong as the tourism sector continues to show encouraging growth.

"The growing tourism sector further strengthens our long-term view in investing in quality hospitality assets in Singapore and we are confident that the hotels will contribute positively to our financial performance."

The firm plans to get the full temporary occupation permit for the entire development, which includes some commercial space, before the hotels open their doors.

"The auxiliary areas in progress include the extended facilities for the hotels, two commercial units, some external works and a tennis court," said Oxley.

The developer has a market capitalisation of about $1.62 billion, and a business presence across 10 geographical markets such as Singapore, Britain and Myanmar.

It is now working on a waterfront township development in London and two mixed-use projects in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, among others.

Mr Ching said the firm plans to build up expertise in hotel development and management to grow its hospitality business.

Rachael Boon