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Aberdare set to open gates to private investors

Reuters

A rhino grazes at the AberdareNational Park. The park has remained closed to private investors since it was gazetted in 1950.

March 27, 2008: Investors are expected to rush for prime sites that are coming up for allocation in the scenic Aberdare National Park.

The park, which has for long been associated with the British royal family, has remained closed to private investors since it was gazetted in 1950. This has meant that only the renowned Treetops Hotel, owned by Aberdare Safari Hotels, and The Ark Hotel, now run by Fairmont Hotels, provide lodging facilities inside the park.

The sites are included in a management plan for the Aberdare Forest Ecosystem which will guide the park’s utilisation. “We hope the management plan will be through by end of this financial year,” said Catherine Wambani, the park’s senior warden.

Representatives of Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service, Water Resources Management Authority, Kenya Forestry Research Institute and the National Environmental Management Authority are drawing the blueprint.

Facilities for hosting tourists in the park are limited, causing some to travel all the way to Nairobi for accommodation. In Nyeri town, which neighbours the Aberdare National Park, only the Outspan Hotel accommodates tourists. KWS is seeking to remedy the situation by bringing on board the private sector to assist in developing facilities.

“One of the major places for development is at the park’s headquarters, where we would like an investor to put up bandas,” said Ms Wambani.

Additional investment opportunities that have been identified include facilities mainly targeted at local tourists.

The investments are aimed at opening up Aberdare to more visitors thus boosting tourism earnings for the park. Earnings for the park in the last financial year hit Sh126 million making it the fifth in terms of revenue generation. According to the park’s senior warden, the best month for the park was in September last year when revenue hit Sh17 million.

However, earnings plummeted to Sh1.9 million last month due to the post election violence and seem to be worse this month, said Ms Wambani.

Other than Treetops and The Ark, the park has four bandas which include the Sapper Hut, Fishing Lodge, Task Camp and Rhino Retreat.

It also has 13 special campsites and six public campsitest. After creation of the management plan, investors will be required to present proposals on how they can develop some of the sites. The best proposals will then be accepted for development.