By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA in Mbala –
THE Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has commenced consolidation of all Government’s tourism assets aimed at spearheading investment in the sector.
IDC executive director for operations Paul Siame said his organisation was working closely with the Ministry of Tourism to consolidate all the tourism assets for investment in the development of tourism.
Mr Siame said IDC was implementing President Edgar Lungu’s directive to incorporate a special purpose vehicle that would ensure that new tourism sites in particular the Northern circuit were fully developed and opened up.
He said the Ministry of Tourism had so far submitted a total of 52 tourism sites which would be transferred into tourism special purpose vehicle thereby, creating a balance sheet that would enable mobilisation of funds from Development Finance Institutions to invest in the required infrastructure.
Mr Siame is currently on tour of the Northern Tourism Circuit to assess the status of infrastructure and prioritise which sites could be opened up to supplement the Southern Province tourism sites.
“Once the tourists come into Zambia the tourism package will not only include Livingstone but will include other tourism sites such as the Kalambo and Chishimba waterfalls, Moto Moto Museum, Kasaba bay and Lake Tanganyika,” he said.
Mr Siame said the idea was to make the tourists spend more time in Zambia by offering them a wide range of tourism products.
Once new tourism sites are developed and opened up, Government expects to create about 300,000 jobs in the sector as well as increase foreign exchange earnings in line with Governments overall diversification strategy.
Mr Siame said the development of Northern and Southern tourism circuits were announced by President Lungu during his address to Parliament last year.
As a result, IDC is targeting to develop the Lusaka National Park because it was already in the Multi Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ), Northern Tourism Circuit and Kafue National Park.
President Lungu is the chairperson for IDC and is actively involved to ensure that the IDC programmes are implemented effectively.