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understanding to establish a US$250 million tourism and leisure village in the Warri and Asaba axis of the state.

This Day reports managing director of Sarner Nigeria, Princess Abiodun Oyefusi said the tourist village will be a first in Africa.

The tourism village would consist of accommodation, a water park, a wildlife component and a transportation unit. Work on the project is expected to commence in November 2009 and should be finished by the end of 2011

According to Oyefusi, Nigeria's population is large enough to attract investment in tourism and recreation.

Delta State commissioner for culture and tourism, Barrister Richard Mofe Damijo said the two projects will change the face of tourism in Delta State and create many employment opportunities.

Sarner has over three decades of experience in the design and delivery of visitor attractions and leisure entertainment centres. The company has an international reputation in the heritage, leisure, entertainment and corporate markets with clients in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Sarner's headquarters is in the United Kingdom but it also has offices in Nigeria, Russia, Norway and Malaysia.

Oh my gush!

good but only seeing is believing..we had such types of projects already for Abuja..and wtf happened to them?

As Africa's 'Biggest' Theme Park Berthes in Udu

It was like a carnival. Why not when the Olere community in Udu local government area of Delta State has not witnessed in a very long time the galaxy of government functionaries that converged on their community. The even was the groundbreaking ceremony of the Delta State leisure park located at Olere in Udu local council of the state. When completed, the park is expected to be one of the largest and biggest in Africa.

To the Olere community and other surrounding communities the proposed theme park by Sarner PFM Nigeria Ltd, which is part of the United Kingdom-based Sarner Group, was a dream come through, because for decades, the sleepy community has been neglected when it comes to infrastructural development.

The community leader, Chief B.E N, Okoro, who in an address urged the state government to utilise the opportunity created by the citing of the theme park in their domain to provide the necessities of life, echoed the expected great transformation the park is going to bring to the community. He mentioned infrastructure like cottage hospitals, schools and town halls for the community............continues

read more at http://allafrica.com/stories/201012150469.html

They don't even need renders for this when M.E.N.D can kindly escort passengers along the narrowing maze of never-ending creeks showing off our oil spills.

They don't even need renders for this when M.E.N.D can kindly escort passengers along the narrowing maze of never-ending creeks showing off our oil spills.

:lol::lol::lol:
u are a CASE!!! :hilarious:

At Unveiling Of $250m Project, Udughan Pledges New Deal
Sunday, 15 May 2011

GOVERNOR Emmanuel Udughan of Delta State has reiterated the commitment of his government to the creation of employment for youths of the state and infrastructural renewal.

He said that the future of Delta is very bright and government is hopeful of creating a sustainable economy for the people.

Uduaghan made this pledge yesterday in Asaba, the state capital while unveiling a 250 million dollar tourism project.

The project, Delta Leisure Resort, is a twin tourism initiative with a main park located in Oleri village in Udu Local Government Area. The second, a wildlife theme park, is located at Ogwashi – Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area.

The project is designed and created by Sarner PFM (Africa) and Sarner UK in partnership with the state government and is aimed at creating new job opportunities and enhancing tourism.

The governor said: “I believe that youth unemployment is the greatest challenge and all our plans are geared towards getting them employed. Our infrastructure are geared towards getting them employed and all our policies and strategies are geared towards employment of the youths.’’

According to the project managers, the project is expected to be delivered within the next two years.

The governor pledged the commitment of the state to the date, assuring that by the grace of God, the project would be delivered on time.

Earlier, the Managing Director of Sarner PFM (Africa), Princess Abiodun Oyefuis, said that the benefits to be derived from the project are immensurable, being a multi-faceted project geared towards enhancing development.”

Link (http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48001:at-unveiling-of-250m-project-udughan-pledges-new-deal-&catid=1:national&Itemid=559)

At Unveiling Of $250m Project, Udughan Pledges New Deal
Sunday, 15 May 2011

GOVERNOR Emmanuel Udughan of Delta State has reiterated the commitment of his government to the creation of employment for youths of the state and infrastructural renewal.

He said that the future of Delta is very bright and government is hopeful of creating a sustainable economy for the people.

Uduaghan made this pledge yesterday in Asaba, the state capital while unveiling a 250 million dollar tourism project.

The project, Delta Leisure Resort, is a twin tourism initiative with a main park located in Oleri village in Udu Local Government Area. The second, a wildlife theme park, is located at Ogwashi – Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area.

The project is designed and created by Sarner PFM (Africa) and Sarner UK in partnership with the state government and is aimed at creating new job opportunities and enhancing tourism.

The governor said: “I believe that youth unemployment is the greatest challenge and all our plans are geared towards getting them employed. Our infrastructure are geared towards getting them employed and all our policies and strategies are geared towards employment of the youths.’’

According to the project managers, the project is expected to be delivered within the next two years.

The governor pledged the commitment of the state to the date, assuring that by the grace of God, the project would be delivered on time.

Earlier, the Managing Director of Sarner PFM (Africa), Princess Abiodun Oyefuis, said that the benefits to be derived from the project are immensurable, being a multi-faceted project geared towards enhancing development.”

Link (http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48001:at-unveiling-of-250m-project-udughan-pledges-new-deal-&catid=1:national&Itemid=559)

:ohno:

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Roadmap to Disneyworld, Ocean Park, By Oyefusi

Deltaleisure resorts is a Multi billion naira project covering tourism, entertainment, relaxation, education and amusement, and being put together by Sarner PFM in Delta State. It is intended to be West Africa's first world class theme park and resorts located at two points. The headquarters is at the Oleri village opposite DSC, Ovwian -Aladja and the second site is at Ogwashi-Uku. The managing director of the construction firm, Princess Abiodun Oyefusi, in this interview, tells the story of what the project is set out to achieve. Excerpts:

The project SARNER PFM is the African arm of Sarner International. What Sarner does is that we build theme parks like museum, visitors attraction around the world, the likes of Austin Towers, the new Doctor Whoin England, the Lost Paradise in Egypt, and Ocean Park in Hong Kong. This is the first West African water theme park. A theme park is like Disneyworld where you have all the big ride. You have entertainment, casinos, hotel and everything.

It is an all encompassing theme park. People go there on holidays for entertainment, to have fun and unwind. Basically, it is a tourist attraction that generates a lot of money for tourism and income for government.

How did Delta State get involved?

This is not actually a Delta State project. Although we are in partnership, this is an all private investment. There is not a single penny of Delta State government in it. They provided us the land and the infrastructure and they have really, really supported us because they believe in the employment opportunities that this project is going to generate for the state. We are talking about over 6,000 people being employed when this project starts operation, and it is projected to attract a minimum of five million visitors every year.

Nigeria has a population of over 150 million people. When we build this theme park, the internal tourism, which is the people within the country, is normally taken at the percentage of the population. So if you take ten percent of the population of Nigeria, we should be talking about 50 million.

So we cut down the scale to five million and that is ten percent of the whole South-south region. That is what we are projecting but this is the empowerment of what tourism of this sort of project does to the population and also employment opportunities.

For how long has this project been on ground and when is the completion target?

We have just started; we did the flag-off in May but we have been planning and chasing paper work since 2008 and you know government bureaucracy and all that. It is projected to be completed in December 2013. We shall officially open in April 2014.

What is the cost implication?

Ocean Park in Hong Kong cost 5.5 billion dollars to build. The new Disney in Shangai, China is going to cost 2 billion dollars just for one ride by the sea. This project is estimated to cost 250 million dollars. It is going to have a five-star hotel because this whole project is going to be world rated.

We are working with the World Tourism Organisation, all the different bodies that rate parks are coming to rate this park. There is a three-star hotel that is almost five hundred rooms, there is a five-star that is 250 rooms, there will be casinos, and there will be museums and a water fall also.

Where do you get the rocks that will be used to build the water falls?

That is the magic, that is the beauty of this sort of park. You just watch it as it unfolds.

You said Delta State government provided the land. How do you rate the state government as regards youths empowerment taking this your project into consideration?

I think Delta State government is really re-focusing its agenda on trying to help the youths because they have realized that without empowering the youths, the future is just down the drain and the youths will keep having the same problem. When the youths have nothing to do, they are practically jobless and you are indirectly building a culture of begging, crime and violence.

So the governor is trying to reposition the state. There is so much government can do in the empowerment of the youths because there is so much employment the government can generate. Employment has to come from the private sector as well. We have to create the avenue that will encourage the foreign investors to want to come to Nigeria, not just Delta State because they are the ones that will pick up the majority of the employment in any economy.

We are building in partnership with the state government a bridge across the river for us to access the river and the bridge is 70 percent completed. The bridge started in November last year and we have almost finished it. We employed over 200 youths for the building of the bridge alone. We have cleared most of the land and got over 400 people employed.

What is your relationship with the communities where these projects are on-going ?

In Sarner, we do not give community money because it does nothing but creates problems. We give them physical things that empower them and enable the people to benefit. For example, we only started in May and we started the bridge in November.

In Oleri, they have not had light for donkey years and they have this other community which they fight with always, that is the Obuobo community. And now that we know, we say let them have light. Giving them light is costing us N5 million.

We also settled the differences between the two communities. We paid for the transformer so that the communities can live in peace. They have been really good, we have worked with them and majority of our workers are from the three communities surrounding us.

There was a health clinic, we do not know who built it, it was an empty building that was abandoned there. We furnished it and it is functioning now. There are two staff and two midwives that we employed and we are bringing in a pharmacist. We provide free drugs in the clinic that is meant to be like a first aid centre for the community and our staff. .

Apart from the free land that the state government has provided, what other things have they contributed concerning this project?

Like I said, they are building the bridge to have access to the land. They have offered us a lot of support in terms of infrastructure, community relations and security. They believe in the project, especially the commissioner for culture and tourism because of where he is coming from.

He sort of grabbed the vision instantly and ran with it and because he has seen how much this project will bring to the state in terms of income. For instance, Malaysia's biggest second income earner is tourism. Namibia first biggest foreign earner is tourism.

If you harvest it very well, there are huge potentials. And tourism is not just your cultural shows; there is a lot of things involved. We have a lot of fantastic places that international tourists would want to come and see that we have not maintained, we have not kept, we do not build around it to generate income.

Talking about the Ogwashi-Uku project, how far has that one gone?

The Ogwashi-Uku Park is actually a wildlife park. It is an open zoo where you are going to find the first five biggest animals. You can drive through and see the animals in their natural habitation. We have fenced the place and this is where we come into partnership with Namibia and Kenya.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201109191124.html

2 years and this project havent even started

You've got to give Gov Uduaghan credit, to bulid almost complete a mega project as the Asaba airport to operational level wihtin a time frame of four years takes some doing. His mega projects, when they kick off will have far reaching economic impact on the people of Delta state.

^^^corrrection please read the article. this is simply a private investment so why should i give credit to the governor????

It was just a figure of speech, not a command to give kudos to Uduaghan. No offence intended sir.

Website: http://www.deltaleisureresorts.com/

Delta Resort: Uduaghan expresses satisfaction over pace of work

Written by Sylvester Idowu, Warri
Thursday, 06 October 2011


Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has expressed satisfaction with the pace of work at the multimillion dollars Delta Leisure Resort and Park.

He said the project would transform the economy of the state and the country.

Dr Uduaghan, who inspected construction work at Oleri, in Udu Local Government Area, said he was impressed with the quality of work on the bridge and access road linking the site.

He disclosed that the employment potential of the project was enormous, adding that over 400 youths had already been employed while more than 1,000 persons would be employed when the beautification of the road leading from the site to the DSC roundabout would commence this year.

The governor said he was impressed that no security challenge had been associated with the project, saying, “I am happy that no security challenge has been associated with this project. This has helped to fast-track the pace of work. I have been assured that the bridge and access road will be completed this year.”
http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/29328-delta-resort-uduaghan-expresses-satisfaction-over-pace-of-work

Construction Around the Site

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OLERI THEME PARK, BRIDGE & ROAD ACCESS CONSTRUCTION

Bridge 80% completed, Started January 2011 schecdule to be completed May 2012. Being rated as one of the fastest, cheapest and high quality bridge to be constructed in Delta State and Nigeria.

Contractors- Dismipro Limited
Supervising Consultant - Johanco Engineering

UDUAGHAN PLEASED WITH PACE OF WORK AT DELTA LEISURE RESORTS PROJECT

Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has expressed satisfaction with the pace of work at the multi-million dollar Delta Leisure Resorts and Park the project will greatly transform the economy of the state and country.

Dr. Uduaghan who was at the project site at Oleri, Udu local government area of the state, said he was impressed with the quality of work at the bridge and access road linking the site.

He disclosed that the employment potentials of the project was enormous adding that over four hundred youths have already been employed while more than one thousand persons would be employed when the beautification of the median on the road leading from the site to the DSC roundabout would commence this year.

The governor said he was impressed that no security challenge has been associated with the project saying “l am happy that no security challenge has been associated with this project, this has helped to fast- track the pace of work. l have been assured that the bridge and access road will be completed this year.’

The Managing Director of Sarner PFM, Princess Abiodun Oyefusi who conducted the governor round the site said work on the project was going according to plan adding that all soil tests would be concluded by this month.

She disclosed that the clearing of the site which was four hundred and fifty acres of land was 60% completed and an environmental impact assessment on the project also completed.

“The clearing of this site is 60% completed, within three months the sand filling will be completed and the first phase of construction work on the tourist village will commence,” she said.

Sarner PFM is a private firm in partnership with Delta State Government to develop The Delta Leisure Resort and Park, a tourist destination, would be a first class tourist village in West Africa.

The new Website & where I got my Information from (http://www.deltaresortparks.com/)

interesting to see that some work is actually being done. I'm hoping that the state will tap into the potentials of having an airport by completing it fully to ensure it looks very good. If they plan on being a tourism state they must start impressing people beginning from the airport.

Then they should ensure that very good roads are available from the airport to the resort. The ease at which people can move from the airport to the resort, the better for the state's ability to make money.

Since this is a 100% private investment, I will have some confidence that it won't become one of the many abandoned projects litering the country.

What I like about this project and I think this is something that should be the case everywhere

Is that...just because a development is a theme park or a resort or a high rise or a hotel does not mean it cannot benefit the local populace.

There seems to be an approach to have some infrastructure and facilities that will directly benefit the local populace, although it is a private led venture.

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Unveiling Delta’s Pearl
17 Jun 2012



Coming to Lagos was an inevitable part of the Delta Leisure Resorts’ presentation. After a launch in Asaba in April, it was time for the Lagos business community to get a feel of an upcoming project that would change the tourism landscape of the Niger Delta, and Nigeria as a whole. With two years left for the $250m projects to crystallise in Oleri and Ogwashi-Uku , the optimism within the external ball room of the hotel on June 6 was infectious. Besides, the project managers, Sarner PFM Resorts Limited, the tourism group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry led by Mr. Goodie Ibru were also present on an evening that featured the Minister of Culture and Tourism Chief Edem Duke, Delta State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism Richard Mofe- Damijo, and the Delta Resort Chairman Abel Ubeku. Seated next to Chief Frank Okonta and Aduke Gomez, Ibru reaffirmed the chamber’s commitment to the project which was another giant leap in state’s tourism. Apart from changing the landscape of the oil-rich state, he said the upcoming projects would be viable investment options for the future by creating 6,000 jobs and divesting the state’s current dependence on oil revenue, a view previously expressed by the Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan during the foundation-laying ceremony earlier this year.

“The chamber of commerce is glad to partner with it because we consider tourism important,” Ibru said. “We need to diversify because some nations live on tourism alone. There is no reason we cannot do it because tourism can give as much revenue as oil.”

Project’s Dual Ambitions
Having started the Oleri-based project in 2009, MD of Sarner PFM Resorts Limited Princess Abiodun Awofusi gave some insight into the dual ambitions of the project. With a water theme park resorts and wildlife park resorts being expected by 2014, some progress had already been made.

Already the state government had fulfilled its part of the agreement with the filling of the land and construction of an ornamented bridge.
The project handlers were also ready to hit the ground running. Citing a research study on global tourism traffic, Awofusi said that with the population that would generate visits and entry fees already in place, it was very hard to feel pessimistic about the upcoming project.

“We have been here since 2009 and our aim is to be the market leader while contributing to the diversification of the economy. The business volume of tourism is at par and sometimes surpasses that of other areas. That is why the UAE built Dubai. We expect 1.8 billion visitors by 2030 and this should generate enough finance. Disney’s original land was on 95 percent swamp, but ours is on 75 percent swamp. Our idea is not just recreational but educational with animals living there.”

Recalling how part of the original master plan had been inspired by other successful parks around the world like the Geyser Falls Water Theme Park in the U.S., she noted that the ten-year sustainability plan of the project would ensure the revenue was ploughed back into the project after a decade of operation.

“We signed a ten-year sustainability plan to manage it from completion. The profit made at the end of the decade will be ploughed back into the project. It is a long term project and investors are not hoping to take their money after a year. There is a long term sustainability programme built into the project and from statistics shown, tourism can only grow, it cannot go backwards.”

The Resorts’ Structures
The evening also gave a peek into some structures that would form the hub of both projects. With 186 hectares of land housing a leisure park that would overlook the Oleri River, the master plan was for an international standard venue with an offering of innovatively-designed resort zones. Each of the numerous structures boasted its own content and themes.

This was largely due to the success of this swing in other projects that had inspired the current designs for both structures.
Apart from an 18 zone edifice replete with ample parking spaces, a retail village, theme parks and Africa cultural village, art trail, waterfalls, casino, sports village, restaurants and a cinema, much of the architecture will draw from Egyptian, American and African influences. There will also be shopping malls boasting a host of foreign and home-made brands.

“We are looking at indigenous names to add to the foreign content,” Awofusi added during her presentation of 25 top global parks for last year. “Disneyland had 5.5 billion visitors with 30 percent of them coming from Africa. I am sure if we probe further, 15 percent come from Nigeria. The chances of getting people from all over the world are very high.”

Two hotels will also dot the eventual landscape. One will be a five-star establishment packing 250 bedrooms in five storeys, while the other will be a three-star haven of eight floors and 504 bedrooms. According to the project team, all the necessaries synonymous with modern-day hospitality inns will be available to eventual tourists.

There will also be private villas and inns for discerning customers who cherish their privacy. These include a range of Floridian, Mediterranean, Oriental and English themed dwellings.

In his presentation of the wildlife resort that will be located in Ogwashi-Uku, the northern part of the state, Johan Louw said the concept behind the animal sanctuary with a capacity for 3,500 visitors per day rested on five main pillars. With conservation, research, education, entertainment and recreation topping the agenda, it would have an adventure park, animal village, safari park, Asaba Zoo and botanical gardens lying next to a five-star hotel of 50 rooms and 38 luxury guest chalets. It would also include cycling and hunting trails while all underdeveloped parts would be for ecological purposes.

Ornamental Bridge

A highlight of both projects is an ornamented bridge that will be the first in Nigeria. While dwelling on the aesthetics of the structure, Mofe-Damijo said the state government was very happy with the progress being made on the project. His views were shared by Edem Duke.
The minister added that it was an idea other states had to latch on to. With a sizeable number of travellers leaving the country every month for foreign resorts, there was a need to boost domestic tourism via projects similar to the Delta Resorts.

His observation was followed by a promise to ensure the federal government aided the project in whatever way it could.
“Today, Nigeria is grappling with all sorts of economic challenges but tourism is the new frontier. It produces three times more jobs than manufacturing and twice that of the ICT sector. It is the only sector we have not put money into and we find youngsters redefining the creative realism. Already we have finalised plans for a Dubai type visa. So we’ll also be targeting Nigerians in Diaspora because they are looking for a project of this sort.”

December 2014 is the tentative opening date for both venues. For now, the team is up to its ears in marketing and branding. In a bid to douse the usual fears acquainted with government projects, the road show will also continue to other states before leaving the country in a bid to woo foreign investors to be part of the projects.

With brands like Guess, Primark, Calvin Klein and Lego already showing interest in being tenants, attaining a primary market of 37 million visitors should be easy.

“35 percent of the tourism business is from domestic borders. So if we can encourage Nigerians to stay home for holidays, you can only imagine the amount of wealth and foreign exchange it will bring the country,” said Ibru.


source (http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/unveiling-delta-s-pearl/118123/)

Promotional Video

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Pictures from site

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Members of the Project Team From L-R: Dr. Climate Irungu,Denver Humphrey,Edwin Fell,Rodney Brown,Omagano Shemuvalula and Princess Abiodun Oyefusi

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Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and Deputy Governor Amos Utuama inspect the nearly completed Udu Bridge


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Gov. Uduaghan inspects on-going work at the DeltaLeisure Resort

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