The decision of the Lagos State government to boost tourism by acquiring a Sunborn Yacht Hotel is applauded as a courageous move but tourism experts doubt whether Nigeria is ripe for it

The Sunborn Yacht Hotel, recently acquired by the Lagos State Government in its bid to promote tourism, is set to commence business. The 105 luxury suites floating hotel, acquired in February this year at a cost of 25 million euros was first taken to Brazil from London for a complete overhaul.

Built in 1999 and refitted in the 2002, the yacht hotel is 18.4m wide, 106.5m long and 17.6m high from the sea level. It is made up of six decks and an interior space of approximately 5000 square metres. The Sunborn Yacht Hotel, now renamed the Lagos Yacht Hotel, is a luxurious boat hotel by all standard. It is a hotel meant for kings and the wealthy.

Among its numerous facilities are suites and executive bedrooms with many having balconies overlooking the Lagos water. It also has elegant lounges on various decks as well as first class restaurants and bars. The hotel is fitted with such facilities as two exquisite royal suites with private sauna, separate bedroom and a living room, as well as terrace balcony overlooking the water in 58 rooms. It also has a central air-conditioning system for all the rooms and public places, a fully equipped fifth deck restaurant with kitchen and cocktail bar for 100 people. In addition, it has a yacht club lobby bar for about 70 people, another upper deck banquet hall capable of seating over 200 people, and two inter-connected conference rooms, amongst other features.

The floating hotel boasts of a solid waste treatment and a sewage plant while water supply would be through the public mains. Two 1500 KVA generators would be provided to power the intelligent Power Management System that is already installed on the Yacht.

Sources told Newswatch that the hotel could be used by corporate organisations for conferences, wedding parties while guests could also host exclusive events on the sea. A room in the hotel is not expected to be less than N50, 000 per night.

The decision to acquire the hotel was initiated by the Babatunde Raji Fashola administration through the state Ministry of Tourism and Inter-governmental Relations. It was bank-rolled by Diamond Capital Limited, the investment banking arm of Diamond Bank PLC and facilitated by MIDC LTD and Westcom Limited, two Nigerian venture capital advisory firms.

When finally delivered, the facility will bring Lagos State into the league of major cities of the world such as New York, Paris, Barcelona, among others, with prestigious yacht hotels, signaling the high points of their tourism earning efforts.

Tokunbo Afikuyomi, commissioner for tourism and inter-governmental relations, who represented Fashola at the contract-signing event held in London recently, said the decision to acquire the boat was an indication that the present administration in the state is serious in its desire to transform the tourism landscape of Lagos.

"The hotel we have just acquired for Lagos with the support of Diamond Capital Limited will be the first of its kind in Africa and, indeed, the Middle East and it would put us in the league of the first five major cities of the world with similar hospitable facilities and tourism earnings capabilities. This hospitable facility is the first that was custom-built. So it is a piece of heritage that we are buying into," he said.

According to Afikuyomi, the success of the Lagos state government’s bid is a proof for the correctness of the often expressed belief of Fashola, that, what will move Lagos forward is, "a combination of the talents, assets, resources and potentials of the public sector and the private sector. Hence, this project is driven as Public Private Partnership, PPP, initiative." The state government had bid for the boat alongside the cities of Doha and Dubai.

Hans Niemi, executive director, Sunborn International, described the move by the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism and Inter-governmental Relations to acquire the Sunborn Yacht Hotel for Lagos as "a demonstration of uncommon bravery and courage on the part of those at the helm of affairs in the state."

Lasse Heikkinen, the architect who designed the floating spectacle, described the experience of having the Sunborn Yacht Hotel in Lagos as very exciting, given the peculiar warmth and character of the people.

Tony Onwu, managing director, Diamond Capital Ltd, praised the professional brinksmanship displayed by the Lagos State government team led by Afikuyomi, in the acquisition of the boat describing the conduct of the government team "as a promising one that the organised private sector would like to do business with."

Onwu expressed the determination of his bank to continue to work with public sector players like the Lagos State government in the transformation of the key sectors of the country. He said: "We have absolutely no doubt in our minds that the envisioned multiple tourist destinations in Lagos was achievable and achievable within a short time frame. We have absolutely no doubt that the asset we are jointly acquiring today as fast track executable transaction was something that was financiable and bankable from our perspective." He expressed confidence in the Fashola administration saying, "This administration and its team are going to lead Lagos to the horizons we are thinking about."

Frank Meke, a tourism expert, praised the initiatives of the state government in buying the hotel but expressed reservation as to whether it would be a success in Nigeria. ‘It is a bold and courageous step in a bid to develop our tourism industry in the country but I don’t think the state is ripe enough for such a project. "The Lagos Lagoon has to be dredged for the boat to stay on Lagos water. Secondly, how to supply clean water to the boat could also posses a major challenge and I also doubt whether many Lagosians have the financial capability to pay for a room in the hotel," Meke said.

He said that as a tourism expert, his prayer is that the hotel would not at the end of the day become another white-elephant project in the state.