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| Business |
| Investor converts farm into resort |
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by
Ephraim Munthali, 17 March 2003
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Nature’s Gift, owners of the New Capital Dairy in Lilongwe, have pumped K54 million into the dairy farm over a period of five years part of which has built a holiday resort within the farm.
Nature’s Gift chairman Guy Pickering said in an interview in Lilongwe on Friday when vice president Justin Malewezi visited the farm that they opened the resort because the area has potential to attract tourists.
The resort, situated in a cool hilly forest about 10 kilometres to the northeastern part of the Capital City, includes rooms, a bar, a coffee shop and what vice President Justin Malewezi described as “a beautiful garden”, among other services.
“Plans are underway to expand the resort because it has a great potential of attracting tourists who may want to retreat at a cool and quiet place,” said Pickering.
Nature’s Gift, apart from the dairy farm and the resort, has 13 more projects, including crop production where 100 hectares of maize is grown and sold to local industries within the city.
“If this country had more commercial farms that took the growing of maize seriously, there is a great likelihood that the amount of money that the country spends on importing maize could be saved and invested on improving the social services for the people of Malawi,” said Malewezi.
Pickering also disclosed that his firm will invest a further K15 million into the farm for a 40-hectare flue cured tobacco farm to be grown through irrigation. According to Pickering, the project will start next month.
Nature’s Gift has a total of 124 employees with 250 more working as seasonal workers.
“The opening of the lodge, coffee shop, grocery, orchard and the need to maintain the forest and the introduction of other projects have resulted to the increase in demand for labour,” said Pickering.
New Capital Dairy was part of former Malawi Dairy Industries (MDI) which government sold in bits to private operators under its privatisation programme.
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