Ruparelia Group rubbishes claims of endangering Lake Victoria in construction of Entebbe Speke Resort Hotel

ENTEBBE, UGANDA: In the wake of false allegations of pouring soil in Lake Victoria in the construction of Speke Resort Entebbe project, Ruparelia Group has come out to rubbish the allegations as baseless claims and geared towards sabotaging the development in the country.

Ruparelia Group denied the baseless allegations of dumping soil in Lake Victoria where the project is being developed, confirming that all the necessary applications process was done and approved by Nema hence the project has been operating within the legal confines of the environmental laws.

While addressing media at the project site in Kitubulu in Katabi town council, the company Environment consultant Martin Aryagaruka said the project being constructed at the former Ssese gateway beach was approved with conditions of not impacting on the lake and it’s what they have been doing.

According to Rajiv Ruparelia, the Group’s Managing Director, whatever is said and circulated on social media is propaganda because the project will enormously benefit the community of Katabi.
“This propaganda was done by a Lady called Assumpta Nakamya, who circulated the video online spreading false accusations with no documented proof hence spoiling the economic opportunities and people’s livelihoods the project will provide,” Rajiv said.

Rajiv added that the project investment value of USD 100 million dollars will upon completion give a lot of employment opportunities to the Ugandan population hence reducing the employment gap.
“The project will have a huge impact to the economy by increasing the countries revenues through its state of the art facilities that will significantly promote the hospitality industry,” he said.

Blanketed in serene, fringed by beaches! With water, overseeing the world’s second-largest freshwater lake, Entebbe is blessed with tranquility at the shoreline of Victoria, Speke Resort Entebbe is set to have 350 lavish rooms and convention centre, with 4 restaurants, marina for 50 boats, 10 presidential suites, Convention Centre with carrying capacity of 3500 persons, additional conference facilities of up to 1500 persons, small conference and meeting facilities, 3 wedding grounds and parking space for 1500 cars.

The lavish hotel is also set to serve as an alternative to Entebbe Hotels with vast facilities that leave comfort for tourists to continue visiting the Pearl.

Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia, the proprietor of Ruparelia Group of Companies has vast investments in real estate, hotels, and tourism, insurance, education, and media.
In November 2012, Forbes Magazine estimated his net worth at US$900 million, making him the wealthiest individual in Uganda at the time.

As of February 2018, Ruparelia Group was listed with investments mainly involved in education, real estate development and management, hotels, resorts, floriculture, and broadcasting. Sudhir Ruparelia, the Group’s founder and chairman, is the majority shareholder in the companies that comprise the group.