Four entrepreneurs from an Eastern Cape village have initiated the construction of a R50-million green hotel.
The 100-room Nkanya Lodge, to be constructed in Elliotdale, on the Wild Coast, was expected to be powered completely by renewable-energy sources such as solar and wind power.
The development included a 1 km aircraft landing strip, four wind turbines to generate electricity and solar panels on all 23 buildings that would make up the lodge, including self-catering units. The surroundings of the hotel would incorporate rivers, bird life, river trips and hiking trails and would be surrounded by the local villages.
The 18-month construction was expected to start by the end of April but an access road to the site was already being developed, Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) development projects manager Phakamisa George told Engineering News Online.
The four undisclosed entrepreneurs approached the ECDC for funding. The corporation then spent R1-million on a feasibility study and an environmental-impact assessment in 2011, as well as a site development plan in 2012 for the proposed project, said George.
The members secured Port Elizabeth-based Phambili Property Developers as their development partner, which was examining the options of injecting equity equal to 10% of the project cost. The members also secured R25-million from the National Empowerment Fund and had approached the Industrial Development Corporation and various other potential partners for the injection of another R25-million into the project.
Lionsroar had been appointed as the operator of the proposed hotel.
“About 55 jobs will be created during construction, with the number growing to 134 during operation. A cooperative in the village will supply the bricks to the hotel,” George explained.