Alarabi Decoration, a leading Jeddah-based interior decoration specialist, has extended its horizon and is seriously looking at the European market - at Italy, in particular.

This follows the company's success in being invited to participate in transforming a historic palace into a prestigious hotel in Italy, says Pietro Nebbia, founder and president of Alarabi Decoration.

Giving details of the project, Nebbia says: "Giovanni Monzio Compagnoni, one of the leading firms in Europe, has been awarded the restructuring and refurbishing of a monumental palace at Piazza della Republica in Rome. The palace will be turned into one of the most luxurious and prestigious hotels in the Italian capital. With its 1,000 rooms and suites, it will also be one of the largest hotels in Europe. Our company is proud to have been invited to participate in such an important project, which will soon be followed by a similar ones in Venice and Prague.''

Buoyed by this success, the company is now concentrating on plans to set up its European unit - Alarabi in Europe - with offices in Milan, Paris and Rome.

"We are so happy that in spite of the tough European competition, our company is being approached and getting selected for such important projects and this has convinced us of the necessity of creating Alarabi in Europe," Nebbia comments.

Over the past decade, Alarabi has been active in Saudi Arabia, Africa, and northern Asia.

Alarabi has completed several major projects in Saudi Arabia such as royal palaces, the King Fahad International Airport in Dammam and the Lailaty Ballroom in Jeddah. It has also recently broken into the Kuwait market. Important overseas projects include the Casino du Liban in Lebanon, hotels in Ethiopia, the Presidential Palace and Parliament Hall in Kazakhstan, as well as several mosques and private villas.

In Egypt, Alarabi has been operating through its own Horizon company for the past two years.