from DANIEL JONES in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
VICTORIA FALLS, (CAJ News) – ZIMBABWE is to add another five star hotel to its catalogue as part of US$3 million investment to create a one-stop shopping mall in Victoria Falls.
Entrepreneur Aaron Chinhara, through his House of Chinhara establishment, is planning the facility for the tourism capital city, Victoria Falls.
Construction is set to start in 2022.
Chinhara has made a name for himself in the fuel industry.
The facility is to change the face of Victoria Falls, according to the proprietors, Glow Petroleum.
House of Chinhara is Glow’s sister company.
“As an operator we want to make the country beautiful by creating beautiful things,” Chinhara said.
“Through our House of Chinhara, a tourism entity that we have created, two projects will start next year in Victoria Falls. I want to think these projects are going to change the face of Victoria Falls because its huge investments.”
He said the Victoria Falls community must “keep its eyes open for another spectacular or two projects, which are on spectacular standards.”
“They are coming to Victoria Falls in 2022 up to 2023. Surely we are not going to build hotels that are already in Victoria Falls, we must build hotels that are not here,” said Chinhara.
Victoria Falls is Zimbabwe’s tourism capital and the gateway into the country.
However, shortage of hotel rooms has been a cause for concern.
The city has a deficit of more than 2 500 rooms, according to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA).
There are also qualms about some of the facilities which do not meet world standards.
Government plans to make Victoria Falls its conference capital and is courting investors to build a convention centre with state-of-the-art facilities comprising five-star hotels, medical facilities, a theme park and motor race course.
The Victoria Falls City Council is also luring investors to build a US$250 million Civic Centre which it says will be in the model of the iconic Mandela Square in Johannesburg, South Africa.
This will include council offices, a hall for meetings and functions, a 5-star hotel, a shopping mall with restaurants and a theme park or city square.
Jacob Mudenda, the Speaker of Parliament, recently implored the government to speed up implementation of the Victoria Falls Integrated Master Plan so as to lure investors into the tourism destination.
Before the debilitating outbreak of the COVID-19, contribution of travel and tourism to Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product (GDP) was 6,5 percent.
– CAJ News