Serengeti Airport: Paul Tudor Jones Project still airborne..
This is an interesting piece of current news related to Tanzania and it’s main and visible foreign exchange earner. Tourism. Wildlife tourism. The various tourism and package tour operators gear their tourism itineraries around the existing facilities and infrastructure. The gateway international airports – Dar Es Salaam and Kilimanjaro (Arusha), then feed the tourist through local small private charter aircraft operators to various national parks, from where they travel further by road – Landrovers or now, Landcruisers!. But these, again, were geared around existing infrastructure and tourist attractions.
Step in Paul Tudor Jones. A billionaire conservationist. Billionaire from trading in futures in the USA. His vision was to create a new Gateway Intenational airport right in the heart of one of the most popular and well known national park in Tanzania. The Serengeti. Ideally located. Lake Victoria, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, the Kenya border and its National parks and attractions. The airport would sit close to the three hunting blocs Paul Tudor Jones’ company, Grumeti Game Reserves Ltd. holds licences to. The three areas are Grumeti, Ikorongo and Ikoma.
Assuming that this project is going through and it is more likely that it will, there is surely going to be opportunity for various peripheral businesses which can feed on the business and revenue that Grumeti and its airport will generate. The areas in the Mara region should surely capitalise on this. A potential investment opportunity for Musoma and it’s people with it’s strategic location right on the Lake and in direct water connection with Kisumu, Kenya.
Here are the main points of this story from IPP Media, The Guardian.
News article from: IPP Media, The Guardian
Dated: Aug 12, 2006
For full story click this link: Serengeti airport project still on course…
…..Construction of a modern airport in Serengeti District, Mara Region is still on course and it is only awaiting approval by the district authorities before commencement, The Guardian has established…..
…..Grumeti Game Reserves Ltd is a locally incorporated company and the legal concession holder of three hunting blocks � the Grumeti and Ikorongo Game Reserves and Ikoma tourist hunting blocs…..
…..Besides infrastructure development, Wanzagi said his firm would help the district develop tourism facilities……
…..This, he noted, was pertinent in enabling local operators to utilize the northern section of the Serengeti National Park, to its full potential……
…..It is envisaged that through the promotion of this economic development, approximately 600 jobs would be created…..
…..The US-based firm has already constructed a US$16m five star lodge at Sasakwa Hill in Western Serengeti. The lodge is yet to be officially inaugurated……
…..Jones, a prominent Wall Street equities investor, who owns Tudor Holdings, through Grumeti Reserves Project has already invested 37bn/- in Western Serengeti since 2002.
The development of this particular tourism focussed business is surely to be followed.
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