Kathmandu-Singaporean-based businessman and philanthropist Robert Kee is opening a luxury resort in Pokhara. Kee, founder of the Operation Hope Foundation, plans to launch the Himalayan Hideaway Resort, The Centara Collection, at Kaskikot from December.

Kee intends to run the hotel as a social enterprise, using its revenue to fund the foundation’s philanthropic work. The resort will focus on job creation and community support.

The Straits Times reported that Kee is opening a high-end resort with 42 rooms, including skylights, private gardens, yoga classes, and a spa. The resort is located on a hilltop in Kaskikot and will begin welcoming guests in December.

The Centara Collection, an experienced international hotel chain with over 90 hotels in Asia and the Middle East, will manage the resort. The project aims to deliver high-quality service and contribute to Nepal’s high-end tourism growth.

Kee targets premium travelers and plans to invest a share of the profits in charitable work, believing job creation is the best form of charity.

The resort, a social enterprise, will provide about 80 permanent jobs and supply drinking water to nearby settlements.

Robert Kee, 77, founded Operation Hope Foundation in Singapore in 2001. Since 1995, he has worked on poverty reduction, social enterprise, and child protection projects in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Nepal.

The foundation runs children’s homes, housing projects, sanitation programs, livelihood support, and community development initiatives in Nepal in partnership with local NGOs.