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The Enyimba International hotel, Aba, Abia State, Nigeria is to be reconstructed and remodeled by Swiss International Hotels and Resorts Services West Africa Limited. The Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA) have accepted the takeover bid of the Enyimba International Hotel from one of the world’s most dynamic hotel groups.
The Swiss International Hotels proposes to turn the Enyimba facility into a five-star hotel, the first in Abia State. The hotel premises boasts of lush scenery, being opposite the Aba River in Ogbor Hill, along the Ikot Ekpene road. If the original plan of the hotel is followed, the natural river in front of the facility will be dredged to accommodate boat rides and artificial sand beach.
On completion, the Enyimba hotel would join a league of upscale hotels in Nigeria branded and managed by the Switzerland based Swiss International Hotels and Resorts, such as the Westown hotel, Lagos and the Mabisel hotel, Port Harcourt. The hotel group would manage the Enyimba hotel when completed.
Built by the former Governor of old Imo State, Dr Sam Mbakwe, over 30 years ago, the Enyimba hotel was until recently, abandoned. The hotel which started in the late 70s as Aba Hotels Limited, was about 80 percent completed, with all the furniture and other fittings imported and ready for installation, before it was abandoned owing to bureaucratic bottleneck. This was compounded by the splitting of the old Imo State into two to create Abia State.
The Enyimba hotel was designed not only to beautify Aba but also to develop the area as a tourist center. Haven left to rot ACCIMA acquired the facility from the old Imo State Government and made some attempts to complete the project. The first phase requiring more than N1billion to complete, the chamber had to seek partners and that’s where the Swiss hotel group came in.
Speaking to BusinessDay, chairman board of directors of the hotel, Macaulay Nwankwo explained that the facility would be the first five-star hotel in Aba, boasting of boat trips between Aba and Azumiri in Ukwa East LGA of the State. “I can say that we are at the final onward journey, because the hotel as it stands is about 80 percent completed. It has provisions for 120 rooms and a foundation has already been made for an additional 100 rooms”.
Information provided by Ikechukwu Iroha
