The Hamilton Dock Hotel, located near to Titanic Belfast, is already under construction by the JMK Group.

The hotel project, which is expected to cost about £36 million, has emerged as the largest borrower from the Northern Ireland Investment Fund (NIIF) since its inception in 2018.

The National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) is a private sector organisation that provides debt financing for “commercial property, regeneration, and low carbon projects” using funds from the Department of Finance.

The funds originate from the Financial Transactions Capital (FTC) financing pool of Stormont.

Some of the biggest projects completed in Belfast's downtown in recent years, such as Merchant Square, the Paper Exchange, and Oakland's aparthotel on Queen Street now known as Room 2 are included in the NIIF loan portfolio.

Additionally, it provided funding for the Haslem Hotel in Lisburn, the Ebrington Hotel in Derry, the Kings Hall Health and Wellbeing Park, and the 575-space multi-story parking structure on Grosvenor Road in Belfast.

It surpassed £100m last June when it contributed £21.3m for a 307-unit student housing complex on York Street.

Since then, the NIIF which is overseen by CBRE has grown to £150 million, with the £28 million loan to the JMK Group being its highest loan to yet.

A 276-bed hotel in the Titanic Quarter was first planned in 2019; however, JMK withdrew its ideas many times before deciding on a 135-bed hotel with 93 aparthotel flats.

Under Mariott's Aloft & Residence Inn brand, it will function.

It is thought that the family-run business, led by John Kajani, has selected the Dunmurry, Massachusetts-based construction company Farrans as its principal contractor.

About 60 positions are anticipated to be generated during the building period, and 70 full-time positions will be created when the hotel opens for business.

“There was sufficient debt liquidity and supply of new hotel developments in Belfast when the Northern Ireland Investment Fund launched in 2018,” stated Herbin Duffield, director at CBRE, which runs the fund.

“Those conditions have been put to the test by the pandemic and rising interest rates, and supply and debt liquidity are now more constrained.”