The main park, located just 20 minutes from the airport in the Oleri village, will reflect the culture of the area while providing "a place of escapism, enjoyment and fun" and is set to include a water park, hotels, luxurious chalets, casino, golf course, historical attractions, family entertainment centre, children's area, sports facilities, spa and retail stores. The Oleri bridge, which is currently under construction, will link the park to the main road network for ease of access.
Princess Abiodun Oyefusi, managing director of Sarner PFM (Africa), has worked closely with the Delta State in Nigeria to bring the required inward investment of US$250m to develop the first leisure and entertainment resort in the whole of Nigeria. She comments, "The Delta Leisure Resorts will be a major attraction for Nigeria. The increase in tourism will create new job opportunities and help with the development of the country's infrastructure. This is a very exciting project to be working on and we see it as a great opportunity for Sarner PFM as it will provide a springboard to expand our services throughout Africa."
Ross Magri, Sarner's managing director, says, "The design of the park will ensure the environmental impact is kept to a minimum, and low energy lighting, recycling facilities, protection of the natural habitat and efficient use of energy will form a key part of the design process.
"With increasing public awareness of environmental quality issues, there is a new sense of urgency to identify hazards and seek out sustainable solutions to our most pressing ecological challenges. Sarner has fully embraced its responsibility in terms of protecting the environment and will incorporate processes, technology and design solutions to ensure that we comply with any environmental requirements and, where possible, exceed them." The first phase is due to open at the end of 2013.
(Jim Evans)
