By Mike Loewe

The totally rebuilt Makana municipal caravan park has attracted interest from tourism and leisure operators seeking to run the venture.

Twenty-two Eastern Cape tourism business owners from East London and Port Elizabeth were in Grahamstown recently to attend an open day.

Project implementer Peter Repinz said: “This development will definitely increase Grahamstown‘s capacity to host 2010 Soccer World Cup travellers by adding more than 100 beds for campers, overlanders, and people wanting chalets.”

Information packages were dished out and the visitors were shown cottages, caravan sites and overlander cabins, which were mostly built from the ground up as part of a department of environment and tourism job-creation project.

Repinz said over 150 jobs were created among the “formerly permanently unemployed” of Makana. The government spent R15-million, and a further R5-million for bulk service installation on the project. It had taken 18 months to pull down the “inadequate” rondavels with no en-suite facilities, he said. “Visitors were impressed with the standard and layout of the venture. Now we have to complete the installation of electricity, water and roads, and build two more chalets and a conference centre.”

Eighty per cent of the buildings were complete, he said. They would have three- to four-star grading.

“We have 10 cottages, four overlander cabins which all sleep four each and are all en suite.

“We have 16 caravan sites, each with their own ablution facility and a service and recreation centre, which can house 100 people, for functions and a 60-seater conference centre, a swimming pool and kiddies‘ pool and playground.

“There is also an overlander camping site with separate ablution facilities and covered braai area to accommodate two overlander trucks.

“Ideally, the council wants someone with a track record for five years, the necessary capital and expertise to manage and market the resort.”

Officials from Makana municipality were “very pleased with the facility”, Repinz said. “There is nothing near anything of this quality in our district.

“We tried to build in space and to make the resort user-friendly and up to the most modern standard. We kept trees so there is lots of shade.”

Source: The Herald