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Dubai - Protea Hotels announced on Wednesday the signing of contracts for the development of new hotel properties in Uganda.
The deal was agreed between Protea Hotels, a member of Marriott International, and its local partner in the country. The company said the signing in Dubai affirms the its confidence in the strength of the Ugandan economy and in prospects for growth on the African continent.
"Marriott International has expressed commitment to Africa as the region for future expansion of the global hospitality sector. The current pipeline includes an additional 91 hotels in the Middle East and Africa region set to open by 2020," the company said.
"This will add more than 18 000 rooms to market, and bring Marriott hotels into eight new countries. In 2016 alone, ten new hotels will open on the African continent, with most placed in sub-Saharan Africa."
Alex Kyriakidis, president for the Middle East & Africa of Marriott International, said Africa is important to Marriott International’s strategy, because of its rapid economic growth, growing middle class and youth population, as well as the increase of international flights into the continent.
The East African region, and Uganda in particular, is seen as having potential due to general economic expansion. Newly discovered oil deposits soon to be commercially exploited, makes Uganda a country offering great prospects for the future, according to Kyriakidis.
According to Stuart Cook, Managing Director of Protea Hotels Uganda, which will own the hotels, the two new developments in Kampala are a symbol of the strong commitment to the continued economic development of Uganda.
"The tourism sector is one of the government’s key focus areas of growth. The two new hotels will directly create over five hundred new jobs and, with our close links to the Makerere University Business School’s hospitality management programme, continue to identify and develop the next generation of industry leaders through our experiential training programmes,” said Cook.
The new contracts bring Protea Hotels' presence in Uganda to four sites, with one existing hotel in Kampala and another in Entebbe.
The Protea Hotel Naguru Skyz and the Protea Hotel Pinnacle are both situated in Kampala’s affluent suburb of Naguru, an area popular for both upmarket residential and commercial property which has become a sought-after location for company headquarters and diplomatic missions in recent years.
Work on the Protea Hotel Naguru Skyz is already well under way, and the hotel is scheduled to open in July this year. An early 2018 opening is targeted for the Protea Hotel Pinnacle.
