Kampala Serena Hotel starts Shs26b expansion

KAMPALA- Kampala Serena Hotel has unveiled a $8 million (Shs26.856bn) expansion project of its facilities in the country. The master plan is to be implemented in partnership with PROPACO, a subsidiary of the French Development Agency.
Serena Hotels managing director, Mr Mahmud Jan Mohamed, told guests at the 10th anniversary that the expansion is in response to the high market demand for the hospitality service that the hotel offers. He said in line with the hotel master plan, the product needs to be repositioned in order to remain the premier choice and further enhance the guest experience.

The works that will include construction of 36 additional guest rooms, a new State-of-the-art suite, partial refurbishment and alterations of the meeting rooms and creation of more executive lounges and meeting rooms commenced on March 1, 2016. It is expected to be completed in 12 months period, he said.

Tourism projects in the service industry are powerful tool for economic and social development of any country in form of employment. This holds especially true for large-scale hotels projects which develop new facilities, create employment and boost the local economy.

“We are making economic and social contribution to this country and this region-as an employer, a customer, a transparent taxpayer and sensitively corporate citizen,” Mr Mahmud said, adding: “Kampala Serena Hotel will employ 50 more workers in order to meet increasing activity and this project will also support Uganda’s corporate fabric via Serena Hotel’s local sourcing of suppliers and food products,” he added.

The former Nile Hotel International and Conference Center, Kampala was taken over by Serena Hotels in February 2004 with an 85 room inventory. Extensive refurbishments and upgrading to the tune of $30.5 million (Shs102.388 billion) began in February 2005 and completion on July 31, 2006 giving the 5-star hotel in the city centre a glowing sparkle.
It has 152 rooms compared to previously 85, various dining facilities, the Maisha Spa and Gymnasium facility, meetings and conference facilities and extensive swimming pool area.

Mr Mahmud said: “When Serena Hotel took over its first property in Uganda, the Kampala Serena Hotel, its medium to long-term objective was to create a leisure circuit in Uganda similar to our well established Kenyan and Tanzanian operations to ensure that we offer the leisure and business client the finest of East Africa.”
He said this objective was re-enforced when Serena Hotels took over management of the Lake Victoria Serena Resort in 2009, which was renamed last year as Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa.
Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, in a speech read for him by Finance minister Matia Kasaija, said Serena Hotels is as a result of a very successful public-private partnership in the form of a Concession and Lease Agreement that was signed on January 15, 2004.

“This is a milestone for Kampala Serena Hotel besides being the only hotel in Uganda’s history to be a member, the partnership offers additional sales and promotional for destination Uganda,” he said, adding: “I am pleased to note that Serena Hotels have a strong policy on recruiting and training local staff and this can be demonstrated by the fact that within the total staff of 781 at Kampala Serena and Lake Victoria, 97 per cent are nationals.”

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