ISLAMABAD, Dec 25: Pakistan will see the re-opening of the luxury Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on Sunday, just three months after it was ripped apart by a truck bomb that killed 60 people and wounded another 260.

The blast sent shudders through Islamabad, causing damage to hundreds of other buildings when the bomber rammed the truck into the outer gates of the Marriott, near the President’s House and key government facilities.

Peter Alex, the chief operating officer of the Hashoo group which owns the 289-room hotel, says that “new concepts of security and safety” have been used in the extensive renovation work to ensure guests can check in without fear.

“It will be the Fort Knox of Pakistan,” Alex told AFP, referring to the site where the United States stores most of its official gold reserves.

He said 60 rooms would be available from Sunday for the Marriott’s “soft re-opening”, with the entire hotel due to be open for business by March.

He said the re-opening would “bring back to life a hotel which has been the centre of activity in Islamabad for more than 30 years’’.

There is little sign that the hotel suffered a major attack, following months of hectic work by about 2,000 labourers.

New chandeliers grace the lobby and restaurants where Western diplomats often met Pakistan’s elite. Guest rooms have been refitted with trendy furniture, oil paintings and carpets. The acrid smell of smoke has gone.

Alex showed AFP a new bombproof wall – which is 14 feet high and 15 feet thick – erected in front of the freshly repainted building.

The new blast wall has been designed to absorb the shock of even a massive explosion outside, like the one in September. Visitors will have to pass through a bombproof room within the wall in order to gain access to the hotel, which will feature sophisticated scanning equipment, Alex said.

“All the restaurants – Chinese, Lebanese, Thai, Japanese, American steak house and the main Nadia cafe – are ready to serve our guests,” he added.

There will, however, be no parking at the hotel. Even vehicles ferrying VIPs to the Marriott will have to deposit guests at the front gate and drive on.

Officials have blamed the September attack on the banned extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which has links to Al Qaeda. A total of six people have been detained in connection with the bombing.

Defence and security analyst Talat Masood said security arrangements not only at the Marriott, but throughout the capital, have been greatly improved in the past three months.

“The Marriott’s reconstruction has sent a strong signal that no terrorist can wipe out the vitality of the people of Pakistan, who want to live a normal life,” Masood told AFP.