In a bid to provide enough hotel rooms for the 2007 Commonwealth summit, Uganda has started the work to build a 90-million U.S. dollar five-star hotel in downtown Kampala.

The Hibiscus Hotel under construction will displace former Uganda Television (now Uganda Broadcasting Corporation) in Nakasero, neighboring the State House in Kampala in an investment of Mohammed Aya, a Sudanese tycoon.

All the construction work will be supervised by John Seifert of London-based John Seifert Architects with 14 experts on the site 24 hours, according to the report of state-owned New Vision daily on Tuesday.

"We are reviewing the premises and finalizing with the design and its implementation. In order for it to encompass executive suites, lounges, restaurants, tennis and squash courts and top quality health spas and indoor swimming pools, a lot of work should be put in the planning from the grassroots," Seifert said.

"We have so far sealed off the area and demolishing of existing buildings will start as soon as the Information Ministry and UBC team vacate the premises. That would be in a week," Aya said.

The five-star hotel, which will be completed by mid-2007, is a part of the efforts to provide qualified hotel rooms to host the 54 heads of states who would attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) slated for November 2007.

Currently there are about 800 hotel rooms of international standard in Kampala and Entebbe. But Uganda needs at least 3,000 hotel rooms of international standard and 60 presidential suites to host the summit.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will reportedly have to vacate the State House in Kampala for the Queen during the summit.

Source: Xinhua