W Retreat & Residences-Koh Samui will be the brand's third global retreat.

The 70-villa W Retreat & Residences-Koh Samui will cater to upscale leisure travellers. There will also be about 20 luxury residential villas available for purchase.

US-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, the parent company of W Hotels, has entered into a management agreement with Amburaya Resorts to manage the property.

Ratchaburi contract

Emerson Process Management of the United States announced last week it had won a contract to install its PlantWeb digital plant architecture, with the Ovation expert control system and Foundation fieldbus technology, at a new power plant in Ratchaburi.

The two-unit, combined-cycle plant will have a capacity of 1,400 megawatts. The first 700MW unit is scheduled to begin commercial operation in March 2008, with Unit 2 to follow in June the same year.

The plant will be owned by Ratchaburi Power, a subsidiary of Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding. Electricity will be sold to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand under a 25-year deal.

BTS lucky draw

Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) is organising an event titled "BTS 7th Anniversary, Towards a New Dimension in Travel by BTS Smart Pass", which runs from December 1 to January 31.

Anat Arbhabhirama, adviser to the BTS board, said yesterday that for any purchase of a 30- or one-day pass or every Bt100 refill/purchase, Skytrain passengers would be entitled to enter the lucky draw by completing a coupon and dropping it into the boxes located at all stations.

A draw party will be held on February 23, with the names of the lucky winners announced on March 8. Prizes worth more than Bt1.2 million include gold, a package tour to Macau, an MP3 player, room vouchers for the Asia Hotel Pattaya and movie tickets for Century Movie Plaza.