Emaar to build five-star Dubai hotel in first post-crisis venture DUBAI (Reuters) - Emaar Properties EMAR.DU, developer of the world's tallest tower in Dubai, plans to build a new hotel in the city's high-end Downtown area, its first major hotel project since the emirate's property crisis erupted in 2009. Emaar, which had skirted clear of its home market in the aftermath of the debt crisis, said the construction of the five-star hotel will be financed mainly through pre-sales of serviced apartments. "The hotel we're launching today represents an opportunity to capture the interest we're seeing from Dubai, (the Gulf), Middle East, Indian subcontinent, China and Europe," Arif Amiri, chief executive of Emaar Retail, told reporters at the launch. Amiri did not give a value or costs for the project. The hotel will have 200 rooms and 542 serviced apartments. Apartment sales will begin September 22. "I truly believe that the real estate market in Dubai is on the path of robust growth," he added. Dubai's property market is slowly stabilising after home prices slumped by over 60 percent from their peak in 2008. The hotel marks Emaar's third project this year after it launched the 'Panorama at the Views' high-rise development, consisting of over 200 luxury apartments, and Alma 2 in the Arabian Ranches residential complex. "Our sales in the first half of this year were five times more than the same period last year," he said. Emaar reported in July that its second-quarter profits had more than doubled. Revenue from apartment sales for the six months ending June 30 was 975.5 million dirhams compared to 640.5 million dirhams a year-ago. Reporting by Mirna Sleiman; Editing by Dinesh Nair