Government is concerned about the delay in developing the prime plot of land that formerly housed Shimoni Demonstration School and Shimoni Teachers College. Last year, Shimoni School, together with the teachers ‘college, were evicted from their land along Nile Avenue after government leased the land to a Saudi Arabian tycoon, Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal.
The Saudi tycoon was expected to build a 60 million dollar hotel for the November Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. In January, James Mcgee, the Kingdom Hotels Investments Vice President for Africa, in charge of acquisitions and developments, said they would start construction works on the premises in a period of five to seven months.
But six months down the road, the land remains idle and covered with over grown bushes.
The Investment state Minister, Ssemakula Kiwanuka, says he has forwarded his concern to James Mcgee. Ssemakula however refutes reports that Kingdom Hotels Investment has threatened to pull out of the deal, if Government does not allocate them additional land that currently houses National Theatre and the new home of Uganda Broadcasting Corporation.
UBC was shifted from Nakasero to the premises housing former Radio Uganda off Shimoni road after the Nakasero plot was reportedly leased to a Sudanese Investors, the Aya Brothers.