The holiday season is again here with us and as usual, the Coast is breathing with a lot of excitement.
In Kilifi county, the resort town of Malindi is beaming and the town fondly called ‘Small Milan” is ready for the festive season following the successful completion of the multi-million new ultramodern Waterfront Urban Renewal and recreation project that is set to be officially launched on Thursday.
Preparations for the grand opening of the Buntwani waterfront are complete with key dignitaries including the Coast governors, cabinet secretaries, and other senior county and national government officials expected to attend.
Authorities have termed the project as a game-changer for tourism of Malindi saying the resort town will no longer be boring as the facility offers a wide range of activities and entertainment for tourists.
On Tuesday evening County government officials led by County Executive Committee (CEC) Member for Lands, Housing, Energy, Physical planning and urban development Maureen Mwangovya together with the Bunthwani Waterfront park Managing Director Ahmed Hassan and other county officials toured the park and said they were satisfied with the works.
The waterfront project has two beach volleyball pitches, which are able to host international and local tournaments and also a pitch for beach soccer.
It also has modern cafeterias and food courts, together with a site for concerts, and is expected to have one major concert by Bongo star Zuchu who will be performing live this Saturday, December 11.
The facility also has children’s play facilities and ample parking for guests with a spectacular view of the Indian ocean and a cool breeze.
Addressing journalists after a tour of the park the CEC member said the project was constructed through the support of the world bank through the county government of Kilifi to create a safe place for tourists.
“This is a 300-meter facility that has different components, we have parking space, we have spaces for sports spaces for restaurants and the project has been going on but it’s ow complete and the governor intends to officially open the facility on the 9th of December basically opening the festive season,” she said.
Mwangovya said they welcome all people of Malindi, Kilifi, and the entire nation to come and be part of the grand opening..
Already she said there are a series of events lined up including Swahili cultural evening followed by the official opening, sports event on 10th December, and the Musical extravaganza on December 11.
“This is a game-changer for tourism, it’s going to open up Malindi not just to the residents of Malindi town but to Kilifians and Coastal and Kenyans at large,” she said.
On his part, the Bunthuani Water Front park managing Director said the project is going to be one of the biggest in Africa because once complete it will stretch almost 9.2 kilometers from Vasco Da Gama Pillar to River Sabaki.
“Once the project is done it’s going to change the face of Malindi we are hoping to attract local and international tourism this place used to be teamed with visitors and we are going to bring back the lost glory once it is complete,’ he said.
Already he said there are a lot of activities that are ongoing including a major concert expected on Saturday which will be graced by Tanzanian-based artist and Sukari hitmaker Zuchu.
“For the first time we have planned to bring one of the popular loved singer Zuchu from Tanzania to perform and be part of the group that will be opening this park together with other local artists,” he said.
He said there is also a volleyball tournament where a team from Uganda will be playing with the Kenyan team together with other sports activities such as beach soccer, seven aside volleyball, foot courts, adding that soon will be having a water park.
“We have activities that go on every weekend for example kids playground, we will soon start water sports, like jet skiing and we will have traditional events such as Mijikenda dances, Swahili dances to showcase what Malindi has to offer,” he said.
During the launch, he said they expect the governor to open it adding that they have invited coast county governments to come and enjoy and give ideas of how to make it a world-class area.
