29 August 2008
Windhoek — Hage Geingob, Minister of Trade and Industry, Haddis Tilahun, the United Africa Group's Executive Director, and his wife Martha Namujembo-Tilahun toasting during a ceremony to announced a loan provision of US$10 million from the IFC, a member of the World Bank. The loan will cover part of the costs of constructing a five star hotel in Windhoek. The hotel is expected to revitalize the city's downtown area and help meet the demands of business and leisure travellers looking for high quality accommodation in Windhoek. The hotel will be located just in front of the Kalahari Sands Hotel.
After three years of waiting and anxiety, the highly anticipated Eliakim Namundjebo Plaza in Windhoek is finally becoming a reality with the ground breaking of a N$150 million five-star hotel expected within three months.
The hotel, which will be owned by the United Africa Group's (UAG) Protea Hotels division, is expected to chew in the region of N$200 million in direct costs by the time it is completed in May 2010.
The City of Windhoek has however stalled on approving the designs of the project. The original designs were submitted in 2005. According to the UAG's Executive Director, Haddis Tilahun, the plans had to be redesigned and re-submitted, and are currently with the City of Windhoek where they are awaiting approval.
The project had also drawn fury from some environmentalists who expressed mixed feelings over its location, traditionally an open parking space opposite the Supreme Court, reserved for hundreds of tourists who come to Windhoek.
The African Pride Eliakim Namundjebo Plaza Hotel is to be constructed at the car park, now known as the Freedom Square. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), this week, entered into a funding agreement with the UAG in which each party is set to contribute 50% to the project. The IFC's commitment in the project is worth US$10 million and UAG is expected to fund the rest from its own sources and other investors.
Tilahun signed the agreement on behalf of the UAG while Mike Tiller, Senior Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, represented the IFC.
"The Protea Hotel Eliakim will revitilise the city's downtown area and help meet the demands of business and leisure travellers looking for high quality accommodation in Windhoek," said Tilahun.
The project is IFC's second venture with the UAG after financing the group's first hotel in the North, Protea Ondangwa, in 1998.
"IFC is committed to encouraging long-term partnerships with clients to help them expand their businesses, become successful, and contribute more to economic development," said Tiller.
The developers expect the hotel to be the flagship of the Protea group. The eight-storey luxury hotel will comprise of 124 rooms, suites, retail shops, a casino, restaurants, three underground parking levels and conferencing and leisure facilities, among others, in a mixed use development.
It is anticipated that during the construction phase about 500 people will be employed and 120 permanent jobs would be created when the project is up and running.
The Minister of Environment and Tourism, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Industry and Trade Minister Hage Geingob and a number of business personalities from Namibia and the region witnessed the signing ceremony.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said she hoped the hotel would also benefit from visitors to the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa who may also want to visit Namibia as part of their itinerary.
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