Dr. Sudhir, who was joined at the news briefing by his young son Rajiv Ruparelia, also provided an update on the project's environmental protection strategy for Lake Victoria.
Dr. Sudhir stated that the construction of the one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art 4400-seater Speke Resort Convention Center is on schedule and will be completed in time to host the 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Kampala, Uganda, in January 2024, and our Spy, who inspected the project today, confirmed Sudhir's exceptions are possible.
"Ruparelia Group, through our two subsidiaries, Speke Hotels and Meera Investments, is sparing no effort to ensure that we deliver this key strategic national facility on time," Dr. Sudhir said during a tour of the site.
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Sudhir Disputes Lake Victoria Degradation Allegations
During the same guided tour of the project, Dr. Sudhir used the opportunity to dispel social media accusations that they were deteriorating or replenishing the lake. Sudhir said that they were safeguarding their own portion of land that would be impacted by the historic, extraordinary increase in Lake Victoria levels in 2021 and 2022 by erecting tougher barriers to protect the Hotel from future floods.
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"I believe that if there are genuine environmental awards in this country, we should be the biggest winners of those awards every year." Because no one is more echo-friendly than me. Sudhir claimed, "I have invested billions of dollars in environmental protection initiatives, including the creation of man-made green belts."
"Being adjacent to Lake Victoria is one of the facility's unique attractions," he said. "It is an asset that we guard with zeal," Dr. Sudhir told the press, adding, "Ahead of the August-December rainy season, we are only upgrading and securing (against flooding) our grounds that were affected by the unprecedented rise in Lake Victoria levels in May 2022."
During the visit, the Group Chairman also led the media and other stakeholders on an on-the-spot fact-finding tour of the complete site to dispel certain internet claims that the Group is replenishing Lake Victoria as part of the development. According to what has been seen on the ground, the rumors are incorrect and without foundation.
Speke Resort Munyonyo Convention Center's Distinctiveness
The Ruparelia Group formed a partnership with the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) to build a cutting-edge convention center that will not only host the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit and China's G77, but will also boost the country's Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) potential and competitiveness.
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The Convention Center is being built on a 105-acre luxury resort complex that currently includes two luxury lakeside resorts owned by the Group, Speke Resort Munyonyo and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort.
The three landmark hotels, when combined, contribute roughly 40 indoor meeting and banqueting facilities of varying sizes to Uganda's hospitality industry, with a capacity of 19,000 people! This is in addition to a number of other outdoor locations. Aside from conference spaces, the property has 476 hotel rooms, including 54 presidential suites and three ballrooms.
In addition to the 4400-seat auditorium, the convention center will have a multipurpose hall, 12 high-end conference and breakout meeting rooms, and a floating restaurant with a spectacular view of Lake Victoria, Africa's biggest freshwater lake.
The whole site is receiving interior and outdoor refurbishments and enhancements as part of the bigger preparations.