Cross River Sstate. Ambitious plans to create a world-class business and leisure resort have put Cross River State on the map
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ross River State has undergone a remarkable transformation since the present state administration first took office in 1999. Under Governor Donald Duke, substantial investment has been made in roads, electricity, potable water, education, health and the environment.
The focus has been on creating a conducive environment for businesses to thrive and to develop a market-driven economy with greater financial independence from the federal government.
“We are developing the non-oil sector to boost our economy and to generate employment,” the governor explains. Tourism and agriculture have been identified as the sectors with the greatest potential for increasing local prosperity.
Situated in the oil-producing Niger delta, Cross River State is generously endowed with arable land, a rain forest and a climate that encourages successful agriculture.
However, it is the administration’s ambitious plans for tourism that have put the area on the map. “The state is naturally endowed with tourism sites and can readily be transformed into a highly attractive and profitable tourism destination in the very near future,” predicts Mr Duke.
| Tinapa Business Resort will feature a huge shopping complex, restaurants, bars and indoor and outdoor leisure facilities. |
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By the end of this year, the state government will have spent more than 61 billion naira (£288 million) on tourism development. The governor believes that by 2010 Cross River will become the preferred tourism destination in West Africa.
The centrepiece of these plans, and the governor’s personal brainchild, is the Tinapa Business Resort. A world-class development, it is modelled on similar resort centres in Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sun City in South Africa. Billions of naira have also been committed to the state’s other major attraction, the Obudu Cattle Ranch Resort. The two projects together are reckoned to be capable of generating an average annual income of 30 billion naira (£142 million) and more than 5,000 jobs.
A market and financial feasibility study conducted by KPMG estimates that Tinapa alone could attract 1.6 million people per year. It is expected to be a mecca for shoppers, traders, wholesalers, business travellers and also domestic, regional and international leisure tourists.
For Mr Duke this means an opportunity to realise one of his most cherished ambitions and the state’s financial dependence on Abuja. “The cardinal aim of our tourism initiative is to create both wealth and employment opportunities,” he says. “It is our belief that five years after the two projects come on stream, Cross River State will have found a source of revenue other than the federation account.”
Private investors will hold 90 per cent of the total shareholding
The federal government is giving the scheme its support and has promised to undertake an aggressive marketing campaign for the project.
Almost 100 per cent of the development will be private sector owned. Tinapa Business Resort Limited (TBRL), a limited liability company, will serve as the holding company for the development and general management of the project. It will also handle negotiations with prospecting tenants, marketing, resort management and maintenance.
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The state and its agencies will be limited to a maximum of 10 per cent of the total shareholding of TBRL, with the remaining 90 per cent being held by local and international and individual investors. Equity funding is being raised through private placement and a planned initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to raise approximately £58 million.
Sam Anani, CEO of Tinapa Business Resort, sees the focus on partnership between the public and private sectors as crucial to the success of the tourism sector. “This is why you see the positive results we have today. This is why we are probably the best tourist destination in Nigeria today.”
According to Mr Anani, the project is attracting strong interest internationally, both from potential investors and tenants. “From the financial investor to the tenant investor to the consumer, Tinapa offers limitless opportunities,” he says.
Resort will be trading hub for the region
Extending over more than 80,000 square metres, the Tinapa business resort will include an international standard shopping complex the size of 16 football pitches.
In addition to wholesale and retail outlets, the resort will feature an entertainment centre with cinemas, a casino, hotels, bars and restaurants. It will have both indoor and outdoor leisure facilities, including landscaped gardens, a water park, a golf park and a cultural village.
The resort is positioned by the Calabar river and adjacent to the Calabar Free Trade Zone (CFTZ), allowing investors to capitalise on the area’s manufacturing, wholesale, retail and import opportunities. Indeed, Tinapa will incorporate a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for investment purposes, which will be granted free trade zone status; investors will benefit from a range of incentives, including tax exemptions.
The resort will provide state-of-the-art facilities for trading and distribution, including four warehouses with a combined rentable area of 168,000 square feet. It will offer access not only to the large domestic market of Nigeria itself, but also to the huge regional markets of West and Central Africa. It is forecast to become a hub for retail and wholesale commercial activity within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Construction will be carried out in phases. Work on phase one started in 2004 and is expected to be completed early in 2007. The main contractor is the Julius Berger company of Germany.
Initially, the focus will be on the aspects of the project that will stimulate trade and commerce, including light manufacturing. Subsequent phases will focus on the business tourism aspects of the project to create a foundation for both domestic and international tourism.
The World Bank has pledged to fund a 9.5-mile monorail line – the first in Africa– linking the Margaret Ekpo airport with the resort.
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