Maputo - Tsogo Sun’s Southern Sun Maputo, now the largest hotel in the Mozambican capital, has re-opened after a four-month hiatus during which the hotel went through a $30m expansion and makeover.
This major investment by Tsogo Sun is in line with Mozambique’s robust real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7% in 2013, despite the floods in the country last year.
The progressive increase in coal production and the implementation of large infrastructure projects, coupled with budgetary expansion, are expected to continue to drive growth in Mozambique, projected at 8.5% in 2014 and 8.2% in 2015, according to African Economic Outlook.
“It makes sense to embrace the opportunities and invest in Mozambique, with its growing economy and its attractiveness to South Africans as well as international travellers,” said Richard Weilers, chief operating officer of Tsogo Sun hotels.
“Southern Sun Maputo has benefitted from a strong trading performance and we believe this expansion and refurbishment programme, together with its location as the only Maputo hotel on the beach, will cement it as the destination hotel of choice in the city.”
Southern Sun Maputo’s extensive renovations included the addition of 111 rooms and conference facilities, refurbishing of the existing 158 rooms and public areas, and expanding the restaurant, lobby, and back-of-house facilities.
In addition, the investment by Tsogo Sun included importing a special beach cleaning machine from Connecticut in America, which cleans the beach every day, ensuring that it’s pristine for the hotel guests at all times.
“We’re not just taking ownership of the hotel, but of the beach as well, which we believe falls under our care,” said Weilers.
“We obtained authorisation from the municipal authorities, who were very supportive of our environmentally-aware efforts.”
- Fin24