Italian billionaire Flavio Briatore at this resort which is in its final stages.[Photo/the-star.co.ke]
Italian Billionaire Flavio Briatore has threatened to sell out his luxurious investments in the coastal towns if the dirty towns do not improve.
Briatore who is a renowned tycoon has vowed not to invest in the towns until things are changed for the better.
The Billionaire who owns among them the Billionaire resort one of the best facility in Africa and the luxurious Lion In the Sun resort both which are near the Malindi Marine Park said investors are frustrated because of the poor roads and town which was stinking due to dirt.
He said the poor state of the towns has really affected their business as most clients complain about the dirty towns but little was being done by the Authorities to make it clean and attractive to tourists.
Moreover, he said the delay in the expansion of the airport was contributing to the low businesses as investors opt for other destinations which are easily accessible.
The Billionaire who is on holiday in Malindi since December 27 said the frustrations have taken too long and they are tired of complaining since nothing was being done to improve the state of the towns.
Speaking in an Interview with a journalist at his resort Briatore, he has said the town was very dirty, smelly and with a lot of potholes and wondered what the county government was doing to attract tourists in the resort town which is a major tourism destination.
He said the situation has been the same for over 10 years and has really affected development as many potential investors do not want to come and invest their money in dirty towns.
Some of the high-end tourists visiting billionaires resort and Lion in the Sun normally like to visit the town but are fed up after only five minutes due to the situation.
“We need confidence to investors, we came back to these towns nothing has changed, roads have potholes, the towns are still dirty, another 10 years we will be forced to close or sell,’’ he said.
Currently, he said they had not closed Lion in the Sun but ‘are waiting for the government to open up the resort town’ because there was no improvement so far.
The Billionaire said Tourism in Coast was doing badly but the authorities concerned were sleeping on their jobs.
“Coast is a disaster, roads are terrible,’’ he said adding “The big issue in Coast is hospitality nobody wants to invest we do not know what will happen in two years.”
He revealed that Al Italia is flying back to Kenya and will be coming three to four days a week beginning February.
However, he said tourists would need a connecting flight to the coast as the current airport in Malindi is yet to be expanded.
“Nobody wants to make the airport, it’s over 10 years now the problem is the same, somebody wanted it built near Tsavo it’s a big problem,’’ he said.
Briatore said it was the county government's responsibility to fix the town.
“If nothing changes we shall not put a penny, we invest money each year paying salaries, training a lot of people by experts from Europe to teach the locals,’’ he said.
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