BY BUSINESS EDITOR
MBABANE – The government of the Kingdom of Eswatini wants the International Conventional Centre and Five Star Hotel (ICC FISH) to be completed.
This was mentioned by the Minister of Economic Planning and Development Dr Tambo Gina when he was meeting the Ministry staff members after his appointment.
Gina tasked the ministry senior officials and staff in ensuring the completion of ICC FISH and the new Parliament building among other lagging government programmes within the allocated time. He said these projects were imperative to the economy of the country as they added value.
The minister added that there two projects were also important in promoting the country to tourist and investors. He said Eswatini has Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policies which also required a good image for the country.
“The two projects need to be completed in time so that they can be of use in our economy and we can in turn benefit from them,” he said.
The ICC FISH is one of the projects worth millions, according to one of the local publications ICC FISH, which is still under construction in Ezulwini, was allocated an amount of around E800 million.
This amount of money was for interior works. According to the Government Book of Estimates, the money was categorised in two: E624 447 817 is loan funds; and E176 million is local funds. The ICC, which consists of a multipurpose hall, theatre and exhibition space, is not a stand-alone project but is being built alongside a hotel known as the Five Star Hotel (FISH), and this has led to the development being named the ICC FISH.
The latest allocation for the ICC will see the total amount spent on this particular part of the development rise to around E3 billion. Already, an amount of E2 255 983 000 (E2.25 billion) has been spent and the actual figure that has been allocated towards the construction for the coming financial year is E800 447 817. It is estimated that the complete construction of the ICC will cost E4 785 859 000 (about E4.8 billion).
Meanwhile, the FISH part of the development has been allocated E10 million in local funds to complete buildings and interior works of the hotel structure.
As at March 31, 2022, the money spent on the hotel structure stood at E1 846 439 000 (E1.84 billion). Estimates indicate that the hotel structure will cost E2 580 086 000 (2.58 billion).
This means that for the entire ICC&FISH, it is estimated that the total cost, once the project is complete, will stand at E7 365 945 000 (E7.36 billion).
