Govt rejects new Shimoni investor

Apr 22, 2009

THE Government has rejected Azure Holdings as a new partner in the development of 15 acres of prime land in central Kampala formerly belonging to Shimoni Demonstration School.

By Fortunate Ahimbisibwe

THE Government has rejected Azure Holdings as a new partner in the development of 15 acres of prime land in central Kampala formerly belonging to Shimoni Demonstration School.

Former state minister for investment, Prof. Semakula Kiwanuka, yesterday said investigations by the Government had revealed that Azure Holdings is not a credible investor.

It was, therefore, not allowed to enter into a joint venture with Kingdom Holdings, belonging to Prince Al Waleed of Saudi Arabia.
“Government investigations have revealed that Azure is comprised of Ugandan Asian speculators whose ultimate intention is to subdivide the land and sell it off,” Kiwanuka said at a press conference at the Media Centre yesterday.

“The Government is convinced that they have neither the capability nor the intention to construct a hotel on the Shimoni grounds. The Government is taking steps to evict them from the land.”

Kiwanuka told journalists that Azure was incorporated specifically for the purpose of the Shimoni hotel project and it was, therefore, a ‘briefcase company.’

“By their own admission, they have only been in existence for the past seven months. They have not shown any project of any kind whatsoever they have done, let alone a five-star hotel project.”

The Government, he noted, had repossessed the land after Prince Al Waleed informed them he failed to build the planned hotel.

“Legally, the Government has already taken back the Shimoni land. All the Asian speculators have purchased is a company in which the Government has no interest. The Government is not bound by any internal dealings between Azure and Kingdom Holdings.”

Kiwanuka, now Uganda’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, said another Dubai-based investor, Al Bwardy Investments, had instead been identified to take over the land and build a five-star hotel.

Al Bwardy Investments had already given the Government a performance guarantee indicating that they can complete construction within a stipulated period, he noted.

Al Bwardy’s turn-over, he said, is $1b and it owns other five-star hotels in Africa including Kilimanjaro, Zamani Resort in Zanzibar and Four Season’s Hotel in the Seychelles.

The former minister was reacting to a full-page advert in the newspapers on Tuesday in which Azure accused him of lobbying for a rival company.

In the advert, Azure announced plans to construct a luxury hotel, an international convention centre, 20 conference halls, serviced apartments as well as office towers and a shopping mall, costing $80m (sh170b).

Sawan Ravani, the managing director of Azure Holdings, yesterday scoffed at Kiwanuka’s remarks, saying no official communication had been received from the Government.

“Our credentials are very clear and we have proved to the Government that we have the capacity to build a five-star hotel. We are not going to be diverted by unnecessary remarks from an individual.”

Ravani said Azure is a credible investor who has partnered with real estate developers Kensington Group which has invested $30m in housing projects such as Kensington Signature Homes and houses in Kisaasi.

In December 2008, the Saudi prince wrote to President Museveni, informing him that Kingdom would not be able to proceed with the construction of the hotel due to the global financial crisis.

Al Waleed also proposed that the Government refund the $2m he had already paid for the land.

The money was used for the relocation of Shimoni Primary School and Shimoni Teachers’ College.

The Uganda Land Commission chairman, Mayanja Nkangi, on April 1 advised the finance minister that the Government did not have to refund the money because Kingdom Holdings had breached the contract.

Two days earlier, however, Kingdom Holdings had written to the Government that it had formed a joint venture with Azure and could go ahead with the project.

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