LUSAKA, A LOAN of US$9 million towards the financing of a major hotel is set to meet the growing demand for business infrastructure, create jobs for youth and opportunities for services and goods providers in Zambia.
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has announced the loan to Protea Hotels Zambia to build the facility and a conference centre in the outskirts of the capital Lusaka.
The loan is out of a total project cost of $30 million.
The Protea Hotel will provide 249 rooms and a multi-purpose event venue for up to 2 500 people. It is expected to employ 300 people and source many goods and services from Zambian businesses.
Mark O’Donnell, Chairman of Union Gold, said the Zambian tourism market had grown since investments in the Protea Hotels franchise.
Protea Hotels is a subsidiary of Union Gold.
The journey was not easy but our desire to support local businesses through investing in accommodation was the driving force behind our success. With IFC support, we can offer Zambians and tourists alike good hotel accommodation and a modern multipurpose event facility, O’Donnell said.
The Protea project is part of IFC’s wide-ranging support to Zambia’s private sector. IFC has invested about $100 million in the country’s critical sectors like manufacturing, banking, hospitality and agriculture.
More than 1 million tourists visited Zambia in 2017, up from 362 000 in 1998. Diversification of the mining dependent economy through tourism is a key government strategy.
The hospitality sector can create jobs, generate tax revenues for governments and bring business to entrepreneurs in emerging economies like Zambia, said Kevin Njiraini, IFC Southern Africa Director.
Source: CAJ News Agency