THE government has endorsed the construction of the first fivestar hotel in the Kruger National Park, undertaking to ensure the design uses the latest green technology and that due process is followed, writes Hopewell Radebe.

Efforts by South African National Parks (SANParks) to increase the number of beds through a public-private partnership have drawn criticism from environmentalists who fear it will spark overdevelopment of the park.

They include Dr Salomon Joubert, former director of SANParks, who has described the plan as likely to damage biodiversity. The local community fears it would be left out of the project and fail to benefit from its proceeds.

The tender was won by global hotel group Rezidor.

In what appeared to be a significant boost for the project, Deputy Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi said: “We see nothing contradictory in the establishment of these hotels in national parks as long as they are approved by the environmental impact assessments and related processes.

“We already have an existing hotel in the Golden Gate National Park and even several famous international parks around the world have hotels as part of the diverse tourism accommodation offering,” she said.

The park already offers 15451 beds, of which 532 are by 16 concession lodges. It has 22 restaurants and 23 retail shops. A total of 4,5-million people visited the park last year. The park contributes at least R2bn to the country’s gross domestic project.

Source: Business Day