The construction of a 180-bed golf estate Protea Hotels Lilongwe Ryalls is nearing completion, with contractors estimating that the project is now 90 percent complete and on track for handover later this year.
The hotel, situated on the Lilongwe Golf Club course, is projected to enhance the capital city’s appeal as a prime location for business and leisure events across southern and eastern Africa.
S.R Nicholas director Gianluca Bizzaro, whose firm is constructing the hotel, said on Monday during a walkthrough of the project that major construction works have been completed and only finishing touches remain.
“We are in the finishing stages of the project. What remains now is furniture and a little bit of tiling. The biggest hurdles have been passed. We are nearly there. I think by October or November, we should be done,” he said.
However, Bizzaro noted that foreign exchange shortages and fuel supply challenges have affected the pace of construction, which was set for completion in December 2025.
The four-star hotel project is expected to cost about $60 million (about K107 billion), according to officials.
The walkthrough was organised by Blantyre Hotels Limited (BHL) plc and Icon Properties plc, which are both part of the Malawi Stock Exchange-listed Nico Holdings plc.
In an interview, Nico Holdings plc managing director Vizenge Kumwenda described the progress as a significant milestone.
He said reaching the final stages of construction was particularly encouraging because part of the financing was raised from the public through a rights issue that raised K62.4 billion.
“We are at a stage where we are almost seeing the finishing line. It is good news, especially when you consider that when we started, we went to the public to raise funding for this magnificent hotel,” said Kumwenda.
Lilongwe City Council chief executive officer Clement Stambuli, who was part of the tour, promised to clear the road that leads to the hotel, which is usually clogged with minibuses.
He said they will soon designate a new minibus depot for the Likuni and Chinsapo routes. The current bus stage tends to block the entrance to the golf club, creating congestion.
Once completed, the hotel is expected to strengthen Lilongwe’s hospitality infrastructure and increase the city’s capacity to host international conferences, business travellers and tourists.
Minority Shareholders Association of Listed Companies Central Region chairperson Purity Chitalo earlier said the hospitality firm is expected to grow its overall profits through increased occupancy rates by combining its Blantyre and Lilongwe hotels.
BHL has for years operated a single hotel Protea Hotel by Marriot Blantyre Ryalls and to expand its footprint into Lilongwe, the firm teamed up with other institutional investors to develop a hotel through a special purpose limited liability company Oasis Hospitality Limited.
BHL is 34.34 percent owned by Nico Life Insurance Company Limited, 32.15 percent by Africap LLC, 26.30 percent by Press Trust while the public owns 7.21 percent.
