Hawai'i-based Outrigger Hotels & Resorts is expanding its reach Down Under again with plans to manage a new multilevel condominium and residential project in Townsville, Australia.

The $80 million project is being built by Australian developer Laing O'Rourke. Construction on the project is slated to begin in mid-2008 and completion is targeted for late 2009. The move is part of Outrigger Enterprises Group continuing plan to expand throughout Asia and the Pacific.

Townsville, on Australia's northeastern coast, is North Queensland's largest city with more than 165,000 residents. The project site is in the heart of Townsville's Palmer Street dining and entertainment district.

The project will include 120 condominium apartments and 24 private-residence units.

Resort facilities will include a lagoon-style pool and extensive landscaping, 24-hour reception and tour desk, fitness room, private boardroom and breakfast area, along with ground-floor restaurant and retail outlets.

"Unlike traditional tourism centers that can be affected by seasonal fluctuations from leisure sectors, Townsville enjoys a consistently strong customer base from the business travel sector," said Outrigger Hotels & Resorts' Vice President-Oceania, Cliff Olson.

Laing O'Rourke's development manager Pat Kenny said the company had held discussions with a number of prospective hotel groups who were interested in managing the resort and elected to proceed with Outrigger.

A two-hour flight from Brisbane, Townsville is an emerging tourism destination due to its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef and many nearby natural assets including rainforests, outback and islands.

The Townsville project marks the third of Outrigger's most current ventures in Australia. On Nov. 1 Outrigger assumed management of the Outrigger Twin Towns Resort at the twin towns of Coolangatta and Tweed Heads on the border of Queensland and New South Wales.

And Outrigger announced it will manage the Outrigger Viridian Resort & Spa in the town of Noosa when it opens in 2009. The company also recently announced its first resort property in Phuket, Thailand, the West Sands Outrigger Resort. In addition, Outrigger is involved in two projects in Bali.

The Phuket project is on Mai Khao Beach along the northwest coast of the Thai island. It will feature a hotel, 98 villas and 336 condominiums, along with stand-alone restaurants and "a world-class water park."

Outrigger's involvement in overseas projects is part of its strategy to diversify outside the Hawai'i market and tap into expected an expected outpouring of visitors from China and India. The company has said its long-range target is to have management and investment properties of close to 50 percent outside of the state.