Minor International - parent company of MSpa International, operator of the Mandara and Anantara brands - has revealed further details about the rollout of its Anantara brand.

The luxury spa resort operator intends to expand its portfolio across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by opening a total of four new properties by 2011.

The MENA region is seen as a key development area for the company and follows the successful entry to the region with the Anantara Desert Island Resort & Spa on Sir Bani Yas Island, the once-private Royal Nature Reserve in the United Arab Emirates.

Next to open will be the brand's flagship property in the Middle East, Anantara Qasr Al Sarab, which will launch at the end of 2009, in the Liwa desert in UAE's Empty Quarter (Rub Al-Khali). This will be followed by a 122-bedroom resort and spa in Al Madina A'Zarqa, near Muscat, which will open in partnership with Blue City Company 1 (BCC1).

There will also be two Moroccan resorts, which will be managed by Anantara. Both will open in 2011 and are the first in a series of properties planned with the Moroccan-based hospitality investment company H Partners. Details: anantara.com

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