Sh50bn club for the rich on the way

Some relatives and friends of Italian billionaire Flavio Briatore on holiday in Malindi in December 31, 2009. Photo/FILE

A Sh50 billion tourist resort that will cater for millionaires will be built in Malindi from March next year.

According to the general manager of the Lion Group of Companies, Dr Liana Pierino, the club will be constructed by Italian billionaire Flavio Briatore.

“Plans for the construction of the 500 million Euro (Sh50 billion) exclusive club are complete and the work will begin in March next year,” Dr Pierino said.

All groundwork done

Dr Pierino, who also manages Mr Briatore’s Asian and African company assets under the Lion Group of Companies, said yesterday that all the groundwork had been done.

The club, the first of its kind in Africa, will exclusively be for prominent world figures such as actors, models, sportspersons, media moguls and business tycoons.

Mr Briatore owns a similar club on Sardinia Island near Italy, where celebrities from America, Asia, Europe and Australia often meet.

The club will have state-of- the-art equipment for sports and leisure, including a spa, to meet the needs of the rich.

Early this year, world- renowned architects and designers from Europe were in Malindi to finalise the design of the facility, which sources say will be constructed by top world masons.

The spa at Mr Briatore’s Lion in the Sun in Malindi was this year declared the best in Africa by a group of companies and received a top award.

Mr Briatore, his wife Elizabeta Grigoraci and nine-month-old son Briatore Falco Nathan are in the country on holiday. They are staying at the exclusive Lion in the Sun.

The new resort will be built where Jambo Club Hotel stood several years ago on the Silversands Beach next to Malindi Marine Park.

“The resort will attract the big shots of the world and will boost Malindi’s economy greatly. This type of investment is what the tourism industry requires. A lot of money could be coming to Malindi when the resort is operational,” said a hotel manager who did not wish to be named.

Mr Briatore, the former Renault Formula One boss, heaped praise on the country after earlier criticising past regimes for bureaucracy, lack of transparency and corruption.