Lagan Construction Group has signed an Advance Works Agreement for the demolition of the Cape Sierra Hotel, Freetown, Sierra Leone and a letter of intent for the design and build of a 5 star hotel on the site to be operated by Hilton International. Working together Lagan Operations and Maintenance and Lagan Construction Group assisted in compiling a plan for the client “Cape Sierra Hotel Ltd” to help fund and develop the project.
The project is a significant one for the Sierra Leone Government and restores the site to its former glory of the seventies when the Cape Sierra Hotel was the top hotel in the country.
The new 5star hotel will have 200 bedrooms of varying specification, Spa facilities, ballroom and conference facilities and a construction value of circa $40million. Retitled the Hilton Freetown Cape Sierra Hotel it will cater for leisure and business users alike and will be the first of its kind in Freetown.
Initial works comprise the stripping of all soft components; (door, door jams, toilets, etc) followed by demolition and removal of the main concrete frame leaving a clear clean site for the new works.
To mark the occasion a sod turning ceremony was held on site to which the President of Sierra Leone and his cabinet attended. Lagan presented the developers with an engraved “spade” for the occasion and presented the President with a Belfast Crystal Globe inscribed with details of the event and the date. Negotiations are currently on-going for the final construction phase.