The private sector arm of the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation, announced last week that it will provide an $11-million loan to UPDC Hotels (UHL) for a Nigerian hotel project.

The group will use the funds to renovate the recently privatised Festac 77 hotel complex and make it into a three-star hotel, with 449 rooms, conference facilities, a business center, health club, and retail and commercial office space.

The hotel, due to be renamed Novotel Festac Lagos, will be run by Accor Afrique, a leading international hotel operator.

UHL is owned by UACN Property Development Company PLC (UPDC), a Nigerian company that engages in the acquisition, development, and management of residential and commercial property.

"There is strong growth potential for the Lagos Novotel because of its size and strategic location, close to the airport and the city’s ports, and well placed to tap into wholesale trade-related visitors from neighboring Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) countries," Stephen Mayaki, UPDC MD said.

IFC’s participation in the loan, in collaboration with Chartered Bank, proved critical in structuring the long-term financing package, which would otherwise not have been readily available in the Nigerian financial sector.

"IFC is pleased to be associated with this initiative, which supports the growth of the non-oil sector in Nigeria," Haydée Celaya, IFC director for sub-Saharan Africa, said.

"Our investment in UHL underlines the importance and continuing commitment that IFC attaches to facilitating private participation in key infrastructure areas in Nigeria.

This investment fits well with the progress that Nigeria is making with its economic reform agenda, including privatisations such as the Festac 77."