/ 28 September 1999

SUN INTERNATIONAL’s LUSAKA DEAL

SOUTH AFRICA’s Sun International hotel group has signed an agreement with the Zambian government to develop the Musi-oa-Tunya Hotel and Rainbow Lodge in Livingstone, a government spokesman said on Monday. Acting Finance Minister Vincent Malambo said in Lusaka that the deal will create jobs, earn Zambia US40- million in foreign exchange, and attract about 200000 tourists a year. Construction of the luxury hotels, within 50 metres of the Victoria Falls, starts next month at a cost of more than US25-million. Sun International won the bid to purchase the Musi-oa-Tunya Hotel two years ago, but the project bogged down following disagreements over tax exemption demands on imported equipment and motor vehicles. The government has since yielded.