Praia, Cape Verde, 18 July – The island of Santiago in Cape Verde will receive an investment of 500 million euros, for one of the largest tourist resorts on the archipelago, officials said.

The Cesaria Resort, promoted by an Dubai’s Profile Group, was officially presented Monday, after the first phase of the project, estimated to cost 125 million euros, was contracted by the Cape Verdean investment agency at the end of last year.

The first phase, work on which is due to begin this year, will cover a 400 hectare area and have a luxury hotel with 250 rooms and 1,000 apartments, as well as leisure areas.

The resort is expected to start operating between 2010 and 2011, according to the promoters.

The second phase, which will increase the total resort area to 1,300 hectares, is still at the contracting phase.

This is the third large in vestment announced for Cape Verde this year.

The first, promoted by British investors, is to build two tourist resorts, one on Sal Island (Murdeira Beach) and another on Sao Vicente (Baía das Gatas), due to be launched in 2011, with a total investment of 2.5 billion euros.

These two resorts include four golf courses, at a time when others are being developed on the archipelago, as well as marinas, shopping areas and hotels.

Last month the construction of Sambala Village, on Santiago Island, a resort with an expected investment of 650 million euros.

Recently, Macau businessman David Chaw announced an investment of US$100 million on a resort in Praias, which would include a casino, hotel and restaurants.

Last year, Cape Verde’s hotels welcomed 233,000 tourists, 26.4 percent more than in the previous year, with Sal Island boosting its position as the main tourist destination, according to figures from Cape Verde’s national statistics institute. (macauhub) (macauhub)