Washington, DC — Liberia, just years removed from civil war, may not seem like an ideal place to open an all-inclusive luxury resort. But one group of American entrepreneurs want to change that perception, and do it very soon.
Next spring, the Robert L. Johnson Companies, a large American entertainment, sports and hospitality conglomerate, is expected to open its first property in Africa, a mid-sized complex on a 10-acre beach front just outside Monrovia, the capital. The property, to be called the RLJ Kendeja Resort & Villas, will be the first of its kind in Liberia - a nation better known among European and American vacationers for its history of violence than its climate and beaches. But when the project is completed, it will offer all the features of any high-end vacation spot, including a full-sized pool, spa, salon, tennis courts and workout gymnasium.
“You’ll have all the amenities that you would expect at any U.S. based or European based resort,” said Corey Printup, who is overseeing the project for RLJ. Speaking at a reception for investors outside Washington, DC on Monday, he said: “Once you’re there, you won't want to leave because you’ll have things so good there you won't believe.”
Since its inception, the $12 million project has been of special interest for RLJ’s namesake founder and chairman, Robert L. Johnson. According to a press release issued by the company, he was inspired by a speech given by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2006 in New York about the important role the private sector would play in developing her country. Bob Johnson leaped at the opportunity, mobilizing the funds and partnerships necessary to get the Kendeja project underway. Sirleaf gave her blessing, promising any help that she could provide.
Sirleaf has been “very cooperative,” Printup said, personally ensuring that the corruption and slow movement often associated with doing business in developing countries has been kept to a minimum. In fact, according to Printup, the project so far has only endured one government obstruction, involving a Liberian minister who failed to deliver on a promise to clear the construction site before the project team arrived. For that misstep, Printup says, the minister was replaced, and the project has moved ahead without another hitch.
Even with the government's full cooperation, building a resort in Liberia has not been without its difficulties. “You don’t have access to the typical machinery, manpower, knowledge that you would in the States,” Printup said. Much of the resort, including the villas themselves, were built in pieces in South Carolina and shipped to Liberia for reassembly. The developers have involved as many Liberian nationals as possible in the construction, he said, even training them in the necessary skills on site. But for much of the work to get done, skilled labor has had to be brought over from the United States.
The added expenses do not stop there. Just operating the resort will require more hardware than it would in a developed country: all the water will be taken from wells dug and filtered on the property and electricity will be generated on-site. Since getting technicians to fix those systems in the event of a breakdown could take an inconveniently long time, every system will have built-in redundancy, creating “a self-sustaining island” in Printup’s words, virtually independent of Liberia's unreliable or non-existent infrastructure. Even the beach is going to be brought in from somewhere else and constructed on site, since decades of erosion have stripped the natural sand away. All of this has added significantly to construction costs.
Luxury resorts are a rarity in West Africa. The few exceptions are mostly scattered on the coasts of nations that have never experienced war, such as Ghana and Cape Verde. But even these often fail to measure up to the standards demanded by European and American tourists used to vacationing in the Caribbean and elsewhere, Printup says. As a high-end resort built on the heels of a long civil war in a nation still considered unfit for investment by many, Kendeja will be a first for the region not only for its timeliness, but also for its opulence.
And already the resort has its first reservations. Following the opening next March, delegates attending the 2009 International Colloquium of Women Leaders - including President Tarja Halonen of Finland and President Sirleaf herself - will be the first of what RLJ believes will be a steady stream of satisfied guests, including United Nations personnel, NGO workers and visiting government officials. RLJ also believes that Kendeja will be a favorite among wealthy Liberians. As the resort becomes more established, the company hopes European and American vacationers will put the resort on their list of preferred destinations, although some may choose to wait for the country to develop further, Printup admits.
If all goes well, the project will not be the last of its kind in the West African state. In a press release, Johnson stated that a prime motive for opening the resort was to help to establish a connection between the black community in the United States and Liberia. “I believe passionately that African Americans have a responsibility to support Liberia, much like Jewish Americans support Israel,” Johnson said. “Given the long historical relationship between our two countries, we have a special responsibility to do whatever we can to ensure that President Sirleaf succeeds in her effort to rebuild the country. There is a window of opportunity, and we have to be sure that the opportunity is realized.”
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In addition to the resort, Bob Johnson has spearheaded the establishment of the $30 million Liberia Enterprise Development Fund, which provides credit to Liberian entrepreneurs to support small and medium-size business and create jobs. Johnson pledged $3 million and hired Witney Schneidman, a deputy assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration, who helped to persuade the Overseas Private Investment Corp, a U.S. government agency, to provide $20 million in debt financing. Another $1 million has been committed annually for three years by the African Development Fund, another government entity. The Fund expects to provide credit for more than 1500 businesses and contribute to a substantial strengthening of the Liberian financial sector by integrating local banks into the lending process..
As for what RLJ might do next, Printup is non-committal, but optimistic. “We don't have any solid plans,” he said, but “[Johnson] has already said he wants to do more in Liberia.”
