Dubai World to develop hotel, beach resort on Gorée Island
Dubai World Africa to manage bird sanctuary, game reserves near Dakar
Dubai World on Tuesday (April 15) signed an MOU with the Government of Senegal to develop a world-class 5-star hotel and beach resort on Gorée Island, as well as a bird sanctuary and reserve north of Dakar and another game reserve close to the Senegalese capital.
Agreements to this effect were signed in Dakar by HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai World, and HE Cheikh Hadjibou Soumare, the Prime Minister of Senegal, in the presence of Mr. Karim Wade, Special Advisor to the President of Senegal and Chairman of the National Agency of Organisation of Islamic Conference (ANOCI) .
Mr. Bin Sulayem and a number of senior Dubai World officials visited Dakar as part of their tour of West African states to explore investment opportunities. During the visit, Mr. Bin Sulayem met HE Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal and discussed a number of issues pertaining to mutual cooperation and economic ties.
Speaking about the MOU, Mr. Bin Sulayem said: “We greatly value the deep-rooted trade relations between Dubai and Senegal, and we see great potential for building on these ties. Senegal has all the required assets to make it one of the world’s best tourist destinations. It is already well served by an international airport and other tourist attractions. .We would like to see tourism develop further through our expertise in this sector.”
“In addition to the Gorée Island development, the bird sanctuary and game reserves will be a valuable addition to Dubai World Africa’s high-end portfolio, which include Shamwari, Sanbona, Jock Safari Lodge and Nkomazi reserves,” he added.
During his talks with the President, Mr. Bin Sulayem highlighted the positive turn Dubai’s relations have taken with Senegal since the launch of a series of ground-breaking projects in major sectors, such as ports and economic zones.
“The President of Senegal has shown keen interest in adopting a new economic approach where the private sector plays a prominent role, taking into consideration that the economy acts as an engine of growth in the country, and the more the private sector takes an active role in the development process, the more benefits the country will reap. Dubai World is keen on promoting its operations in this prospering market and is looking forward to investing in more sectors such as business parks, logistic centres and other mutually beneficial areas which have the potential of expediting economic development and contributing to eradication of poverty,” he said.
Mr. Bin Sulayem noted that Africa in general and the Republic of Senegal in particular have numerous opportunities in various economic fields, the most prominent of which are energy and transportation, telecommunications, oil, gas, mining and heavy industries infrastructure.
The African continent has seen the strongest levels of growth over the past three decades. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased by 6 per cent during the last three years. The rise of the private sector in Africa, being a crucial element, has had a major effect on improving performance.
The MoU will expand Dubai World’s operations in Senegal, where several other flagship companies under the group already have a strong presence. Dubai World’s flagship company, global marine terminal operator DP World has undertaken early this year the operation, development and management of current Dakar container terminal, Terminal a Conteneur, as well as the right to develop a new container terminal at Port du Futur. DP World has committed more than €115 million to the existing terminal. It is also planning to double capacity to around 550,000 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent container units) by installing two giant gantry cranes this year and two more in 2009. A total of 9 gantry cranes will also be installed on the present container terminal and the Port du Futur. Currently, the terminal has no gantry cranes to handle large container vessels. The first phase of this development will be completed by 2010.
The second phase of the project will be to design, finance, construct and manage the new Port du Futur container terminal, which will have a potential capacity of 1.75 million TEUs. Port du Futur is expected to be operational by early 2011, with more than €335 million allocated for this investment.
Another Dubai World flagship company, Jafza International, the global operations arm of Economic Zones World, signed a contract with the Senegalese Government for the development of the 6.5 million square metres $800 million Dakar Integrated Special Economic Zone, comprising four phases of about 1,500,000 square metres each.
The construction of the first phase will commence by the end of this year, and first operations are expected in 2011. The special economic zone aims to provide a particularly conducive environment for industrial, commercial, logistics and services activities. This promising project is expected to host 1000 companies and create significant job opportunities over the next 20 years. This project forms part of an even bigger integrated project over 10,000 hectares to include tourism, residential and commercial development to be developed by other Dubai World entities.
