ZITF identifies transaction advisor for its hotel

Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) Company has identified a transaction advisor to assist it in its multi-million dollar hotel and convention centre construction project, an official said.

ZITF Company board chairperson Ms Ruth Ncube said negotiations between the two parties were still on-going.

“We have found a lead advisor. We communicated with them last week but they hadn’t communicated acceptance back…we gave them up to Thursday next week (this week),” said Ms Ncube.

The trans­ac­tion ad­vi­sor ten­der ap­pli­ca­tions which were closed on 16 March are reported to have attracted international attention with a number of foreign firms having applied. ZITF Com­pany has set sights on con­struct­ing a 300-bed ho­tel and an 800-seater Con­ven­tion Cen­tre in Bulawayo.

Fea­si­bil­ity stud­ies for the two projects were done be­tween 2011 and 2012 but shelved due to economic challenges but the re­newed eco­nomic re­vival prospects and con­fi­dence brought about by the new po­lit­i­cal dis­pen­sa­tion prompted the ZITF Com­pany to con­sider pur­su­ing the projects.

“We are taking a long-term view to this country, if we take a short-term view nothing can come out. Short to medium is sufficient but there are peak times when there is no accommodation at all (in Bulawayo), industry is beginning to happen and (international) enquiries are beginning to come,” said Ms Ncube.

Bulawayo is perennially affected by shortage of accommodation especially during the ZITF period with most visitors resorting to seeking alternative lodgings at homes.

This shortage of accommodation has over the past years prompted calls for the construction of a new hotel in the city but there had been no serious response mainly due to deteriorating economic conditions, which was fuelled by company closures in the country’s once industrial hub.

“If you take a very short view, with the prevailing gloomy picture in Bulawayo you can’t do much. We are overwhelmed with enquiries and even hotels are turning away people because of their (low) bedding and conferencing capacity,” said Ms Ncube.

The ZITF Company chairperson said there was a need for Bulawayo and the country to improve its Meet­ings, Con­fer­ences and Events facilities.

“For expos like A’sambeni, some of the buyers strictly say they want to stay in five star hotels and most of the time they don’t come because we don’t have the correct facilities here in Bulawayo. These are some of the things as industry we are looking at to see how best we can position Bulawayo as a hub in terms of tourism and conferencing . . .

“Imagine, in Southern Africa, probably the only country that can take sizeable African conferences is only South Africa. Our country needs serious conferencing if it is to go forward. We don’t have anything outside HICC (Harare International Conference Centre), which is the only facility that is somehow better,” said Ms Ncube.

@DNsingo