The construction of the five-star Hibiscus Hotel worth $90m (sh164.7b) in Nakasero has started.

The hotel that will displace former Uganda Television (now Uganda Broadcasting Corporation UBC) will be above All Saints Cathedral and is an investment of Mohammed Aya, the chairman of Aya Group of Companies.

The area has been sealed off and demolishing of existing buildings will start as soon as the information ministry and UBC team vacate the premises within a week.

John Seifert of London-based John Seifert Architects who will supervise the site with fourteen experts said that they are reviewing the premises and finalising with the design and its implementation. In order for it to encompass executive suites, lounges, restaurants, tennis and squash courts and top quality health spas and indoor swimming pools, a lot of work should be put in the planning from the grassroots.

The construction would end by May 15 and would last 12 months. At least 1,200 casual labourers will be employed.

By Kisibo Jackie
Uganda Hotel News

OVER 300 dairy exhibitors are attending the second African Dairy Conference at Speke Resort and Country Lodge in Munyonyo.

The event has attracted dairy processors, distributors, equipment suppliers, packaging and pharmaceutical firms and veterinary medicine suppliers.

By Kisibo Jackie
Uganda Hotel News

Hotels under construction and targeting the commonwealth have been given a 12 months deadline to complete construction.

The commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) that is scheduled for November 2007 in Kampala is only 18 months away.
The CHOGM secretariat in Kampala said that the hotels are left with 12 months to complete construction and then the remaining 6 months are needeed by the new hotels to to recruit and trin staff for the Big meeting.

The Serena Kampala Serena hotel which is to host the the opening ceremony is in its final stages of construction. Big media channels like CNN and BBC will cover the event.

A committee has been se up under the ministry of Tourism trade and Industry to get work of grading hotels started. This can only be done when hotel construction has been completed and necessary repairs and fittings finalised.

By Kisibo Jackie
Uganda Hotel News

President Yoweri Museveni donated the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) land at Nakasero, Kampala to Sudanese investors as part of the government’s incentive to attract investment.Apart from the land donation, the government is to spend US$6m (shs10.7b) to relocate UBC TV from Nakasero to Kololo Summit View.

The Sudanese brothers through AYA (Uganda) Ltd, are to construct a five-star hotel worth US$90m (about shs164bn) on the hill.
Several people are to be displaced including Nakasero School of Nursing and Midwifery, several offices of presidential advisers and the Departments of Information, Ethics & Integrity and that of Economic Monitoring have been sharing the UBC premises

State Minister for Information who is also the government spokesman, Dr Buturo said that if an investor is coming to put say a hotel of US$90m, you look at employment of Ugandans, tourism and modernisation, you decide to forego the value of the land in return for something bigger. Here, the benefits outweigh the costs (of relocating). He defended the deal saying the investment out-weighs the displacement costs.Buturo added: “There is no money going to be spent on relocating me from Nakasero to the former Movement Secretariat. Between US$5 to US$6m, will be spent on relocating UBC and TV to Kololo and the government is looking for the money. The Policy of the government is to put in place incentives that can attract investment. In light of this, they did not pay for that land,” Dr. Buturo admitted, confirming reports that government donated the land to AYA.

The 15-acre prime land at Nakasero has hosted the government owned TV for 43 years. It originally belonged to Buganda kingdom, sources said.

This is the second controversial hotel investment that is displacing a traditional installation in preparation for CHOGM. Shimoni Demonstration Primary School and Shimoni Teachers College are also set to be relocated after the 15.1 acres of land occupied by the two schools was awarded to a Saudi Arabian tycoon, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin AbdulAziz Alsaud.
The Saudi Prince who owns Kingdom Holdings Company, is supposed to build a five- star hotel in preparations for the 2007 Common Wealth Summit. Shimoni Demonstration School is the largest UPE School in Kampala with 3,400 pupils.

By Kisibo Jackie
Uganda Hotel News

A Kenyan-based hotel, Golden Leaves Hotels & Resorts (Kenya) Ltd, has petitioned the Tax Appeal Tribunal challenging Uganda Revenue Authority’s decision demanding Shs3.4 billion in Value Added Tax. The two companies claim that in 2002, Golden Leaves agreed to refurbish, furnish, equip and manage Sheraton Kampala Hotel. They claim the agreement provided that Golden Leaves was to act solely as agents of Apollo Hotel Corporation including for purpose of debts and liabilities.

They claim that Golden Leaves applied and obtained an investment trader status and paid input tax amounting to Shs1.8 b.
However, later when the petitioners discovered that Golden Leaves was not entitled to pay such tax, they asked URA to refund the money, which URA did. The two claim that on August 18, 2005, URA made a demand for Golden Leaves to return the said monies including interests and penalties on grounds that the same had been wrongly returned.

URA computations including all interests and penalties increased the figure to Shs3.4 b. The petitioners also claim that URA has issued a third party agency notice to their banks; Barclays, Standard Chartered and Stanbic, attaching Shs990,398,633 purportedly using the VAT Act. They contend that Golden Leaves, though registered as an investment trader, is not the owner of the hotel and shall therefore not be taxed after the renovation of the hotel.

Golden Leaves and Apollo Hotel Corporation, proprietors of Sheraton Kampala Hotel, jointly filed the case against URA.

By Kisibo Jackie
Uganda Hotel news