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New Investor for Umubano Hotel Kigali
The Local hospitality industry has received a major boost after Uganda’s Madhvani Group acquired Umubano Hotel, ending a long-running delay that was hurting the credibility of this facility as well as tourism prospects.
The 4-star facility, with 100 rooms, 14 suites, four conference rooms, a swimming pool, tennis court, and a mini-golf course is located approximately 5km from the heart of Kigali.
“The new deal means that we now own 100% of the facility including costs of renovation,” Eswar said. “This major investment now enables us to complete the circuit across the east African region.”
Rwanda has been seeking for an investor to acquire the facility since 2013 when the Libyan government, which owned the majority stake, failed to renovate it.
Parasuramn Eswar, the corporate affairs director at the Madhvani Group told The Independent in an interview that the deal to buy the facility was concluded on Jan 27 at US $20million.
Madhvani’s Group owns four properties in Uganda -Silver Back Lodge, Mweya Safari Lodge, Chobe Safari Lodge, and Paraa Safari Lodge- and three in Kenya which includes Aberdare Country Club, The Ark, and Mara Leisure Camp.
Madhvani’s move comes at the time more Ugandan companies are also setting their foot in Rwanda following the implementation of the Common Market nearly seven years ago by the East African Community states.
And when the transition government took over in Tripoli following the ouster of Col Muammar Gaddafi, it resumed talks with the Rwandan government, promising to invest in the hotel. But they did not manage to save the hotel.
Credit: rwandeye.com
