Kenya boat and beach business operators protest
Briatore's resort plans meet local opposition
(eTN) - Flavio Briatore’s plans for expanding his billionaire’s resort in Malindi met with local opposition when boat and beach business operators protested at the public beach of the construction site, preventing contractors to put up a fence which could have cut off access to the beach in contravention of existing regulations. Rules require that a distance between any wall or fence of at least 60 meters from the high-water mark has to be kept, but the contractors appear to have attempted to erect a fence way into that zone.
The locals also made an argument of how the land, apparently given by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) under a 20-year concession – being inside the demarcated area of the marine park – was given to the investor without a public hearing or competitive bidding, leaving local KWS officials overwhelmed and, according to a report from a source in Malindi, unable to defuse the situation.
Briatore, former team chief of the Renault Formula 1 team, fell into disgrace when the FIA banned him from any participation in racing, then turning his attention to other ventures, one of them being the construction of a top end resort in Malindi with all the trimmings, winning him awards already for the spa.
The source in Malindi also mentioned that the fence could have been to seal off the construction site until the new portion of the resort was ready to open, to prevent trespassing and potential theft of materials. It is understood that government officials have called for a meeting early in the week to discuss the situation and find a solution which can meet the requirements of all parties now facing off in the dispute.
Comments
Post new comment