Mozambique's Bazaruto Island will soon feature an exclusive residential development aimed at the world's rich and famous.
It will be the first residential development on the island and the last, because Bazaruto is a nature reserve.
Because of this the resale values of the properties will run into millions of dollars.
Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith and John Travolta are among the potential buyers said to be interested in the development.
Developers Jean Reyneke and Chris Krause, directors of Bazaruto Holdings, will be launching The Palms at Bazaruto today but say it is an invitation-only launch.
Reyneke says the development will comprise 24 stands ranging from 2500m² to 3500m² in size and priced from R4,5m.
The buyers will then be given a list of architects and guidelines for the houses they want built, but the common theme will be "colonial maritime".
Reyneke says the style of properties will be similar to those in Martha's Vineyard in the US and that the development is aimed at the top 10% of the market.
"We want to recreate The Hamptons in Mozambique," Reyneke says.
Reyneke says there are 160 palm trees in the central communal area of the site. "It's the only part of the island where there are natural palm trees."
Although the land is purchased on a 99-year lease, the owners will receive title deeds once they build their homes.
"We are already doing presales. All the elite in Africa are buying plots," says Reyneke.
Some of the interested parties include African presidents, as well as businessmen from SA, the Emirates and the rest of Africa.
The Palms is also being marketed in Europe and the US. "In the US we are marketing it directly to people like Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith and John Travolta. The agency I'm using in the US is the Ferrari family, who lease properties to all the A-list stars."
Reyneke says The Palms is an exclusive development because Bazaruto along with the other four islands off the Mozambican coast have been declared nature reserves and no further development will be allowed. The only other major development on Bazaruto is the five-star Indigo Bay Hotel.
Reyneke says there is also easy access to the island. "There is a brand new tarred 1500m airstrip on the island which can handle corporate jets and other aircraft. The flight from Johannesburg is only two hours long ," he says.
He says there are also daily scheduled flights with South African firm Pelican Air to the island. He says most people fly to Vilanculos and then either charter a boat or travel by ferry.
