Protea Hotels Zambia plans to build and operate a hotel and conference centre just outside Lusaka.
The 249-room hotel will have a large, multi-purpose event venue for up to 2 500 people. It will be managed under a Protea Hotels by Marriott franchise agreement, training local staff in global best practices in hospitality.
International Finance Corporation (IFC) is contributing $9m to the financing of the hotel, out of a total project cost of $30m.
Mark O’Donnell, Chairman of Union Gold, which owns the Protea Hotels franchise in Zambia, said: “The Zambia tourism market has grown from the first time we invested in the Protea Hotels franchise. 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.”
Protea Hotels Zambia is the largest hotel group in Zambia, and has an exclusive franchise agreement with Protea Hotels by Marriott in the country. The hotel group owns and operates eight hotels in Zambia with a total of 612 rooms.
