CBD Hilton hotel gets environmental nod

Pauline Dikuelo | Friday January 22, 2016 15:46

The project entails the development of a seven-storey hotel block, which will cover a total area of 8,240 square metres to be operated by Hilton Worldwide and a three-storey commercial block, which will cover a total area of 6,334 square metres for retail accommodation.

“The conclusion from the findings of the EIA exercise is that the benefits of the proposed project outweigh the disbenefits. All the negative impacts can be avoided and managed through the implementation of the mitigation measures as well as environmental management plan contained in the Environmental Impact Assessment report, ” read part of the statement released by the ministry.

The construction of the P300 million five star hotel which is located in Plot 54366 in CBD is expected to start by the first week of February under the developers, Fleming Asset Management Botswana.

“We intend to start the construction during the first week of February or the second one latest.

This project is anticipated to take 22 months and we hope that by the time it’s complete the economy will have recovered so that we can have more clients,” said Flemming Asset Management chief finance Officer, Gopi Kumar.

The ministry has recommended that the project be allowed to commence with due implementation measures recommended.

Various services will be provided by the different components of the structure, which comprise all day dining facility, pool deck, meeting and conference facilities as well as fully fitted retail stalls for rental.

The 148-roomed hotel is a partnership between BPOPF, M3 (Pty) Ltd, Hilton Brand Worldwide and Fleming Asset Management.

M3 company has developed the designs of the building while Fleming Asset Management coordinated the project and Wharic Construction Company has won the tender to build the multi-million Pula project.

Botswana’s Hilton Garden Inn will be the 12th one in the sub-Saharan Africa while the 11th one was built in Swaziland. Currently Hilton hotel, which has been operating for 90 years, is operating in 94 countries in six continents and has 4,300 hotels over different flags.

The BPOPF has its P55 billion assets invested in equities, currencies, bonds and property.

Under a new investment strategy, the BPOPF has pioneered private equity worth P800 million as well as an infrastructure investments fund, which will primarily finance government-backed projects through bond issuance.

The pension fund, which owns a 17 percent stake in PrimeTime, recently bought Barclays Plaza and Blue Jacket Square in Francistown for P71 million.