[Source: Business Daily, by Brian Ngugi]
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has invited investors to develop and manage more than 20 of its hospitality establishments, including luxury lodges, restaurants and tented camps, as it seeks to diversify revenue streams.
The lodges on offer to potential investors are located in Kenya’s prime game reserves and parks — offering tasty investment opportunities – to individuals and institutions with the capacity to revamp and manage them profitably.
Among the prime parks and reserves targeted for development are Mt Kenya, Tsavo East, Marsabit, South Island National Park on Lake Turkana, Nairobi National Park, Ruma National Park, Meru National Park, Ol Donyo Sabuk National Park and Mt Elgon National Park.
Others are Aberdare National Park, Tsavo West National Park, Kakamega Forest, Kisumu Impala Sanctuary, Hell’s Gate and Naivasha Game Farm.
Successful bidders will run the luxury eco-lodges and tented camps on an initial 20-year-lease that is renewable for another six years, while those seeking to build restaurants and cafes will get leases for 10 to 13 years same as those seeking to construct recreation areas.
The luxury lodges and tented camps will be built on between five and 20 acres depending on location of the parks.
Restaurants and cafes will be built on between one and five acres of land depending on location.
The successful bidders will be required set aside jobs for the local communities and provide other benefits.
The agency has also received major financial boost from compensation for tracts of its land hived off for infrastructural projects. For instance, KWS raked in a whopping Sh9.2 billion in compensation for land hived off national parks for construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and the Southern by-pass.
Under Phase Two of the SGR that starts from Nairobi to Naivasha, the KWS got Sh4 billion from the Kenya Railways Corporation.
For the southern by-pass, the wildlife agency was paid Sh3.7 billion by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) for land cut off Nairobi National Park for construction of the road.
[Full article: Business Daily, by Brian Ngugi]
