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afrol News, 2 February - The government of Cape Verde announces that it has reached yet another agreement on strengthening its tourism infrastructure. A new five star hotel is to be constructed on the island of Sal, the archipelago's major tourist destination, which is slowly growing into a mass tourism resort. Just a little south of the Spanish Canary Islands - Europe's major all-year tourist destination - the Cape Verdean island of Sal is emerging a competition to the more famous islands Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. Catholic Cape Verde further is the closest non-Muslim African destination for Europeans; not without importance in these days of global conflict. The closeness to the Canary Islands also produces another asset for Cape Verde, namely the growing interest from Spanish investors as tourism development in Spain grows increasingly expensive and less lucrative. It was therefore no surprise that it was the Spanish hotel and restaurant group Riu Hotels that signed a contract of building a new hotel complex on Sal island. The Spanish group, which already operates around 100 hotels worldwide - most in Spain and Canary Islands, though - on Friday signed an agreement with the Cape Verdean government to construct a five star hotel in the beautiful region of Ponta Preta on Sal, in an investment project named Riu Funaná. The hotel complex - at an estimated cost of US$ 28,696,000 - will be implemented in two phases and have a capacity of 20 suites, swimming pools, an aquatic bar, a gym, a port complex and a solarium, in addition to ordinary hotel services. Cape Verdean Prime Minister José Maria Neves himself praised the Riu Funaná project as an important step for the development of tourism in Cape Verde, saying the agreement "demonstrates the confidence of investors in this country and in its future." The lead taken by Riu Hotels should "serve as an example for other Spanish groups," Mr Neves said, hoping to attract Spanish capital to the sectors of "sea and air transport, industry and infrastructure," sectors that need further development on Sal and other islands to pave the way for tourism on a greater scale. The Prime Minister declared he would work together with partners to promote Cape Verde as a major tourist destination. "I expect that within two years time, when the Hotel Riu Funaná begins to operate, we can count on the quality of the Riu Group and an enhanced rhythm in Cape Verde," Mr Neves said. The island of Sal is one of the minor islands of the Cape Verdean volcanic archipelago, but as the Cape Verde International Airport is located on the island, it has developed into the principal holiday destination in the country. Cape Verde is composed of 10 islands and 8 islets. The capital, Praia on Santiago Island, is currently trying to compete with Sal's near-monopoly in tourism, as a new international airport and several hotels are being inaugurated. Sources: Based on Cape Verde govt, Riu Group and afrol archives
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