Zanzibar mega-resort offers expats an opportunity

A development covering more than 1,500 hectares is being built on the Indian Ocean archipelago with homes for sale to non-residents for the first time.

Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania is made up of 51 islands. Courtesy Melia Zanzibar

Off the coast of Tanzania, a tropical island resort is set to change the face of the Zanzibar archipelago – and for the first time expats will be able to buy a home there.

The development of the Zanzibar Amber Resort,a mega-project by Pennyroyal Gibraltar, will sustainably and economically transform Zanzibar and its community at large, the developer said.

Zanzibar is a cluster of 51 tropical islands nestled in the Indian Ocean that was first used as a port of call for African, Indian and Arabic.

For the first time in Zanzibar’s history, non-Tanzanian residents can buy residential property there. Supported by a 99-year lease (and further extended by an optional 49 years) the residential opportunities will become available from mid-2017. The development features 1,914 luxury villas of 3,4 and 5 bedrooms, all with swimming pools. There are 3,440 luxury and penthouse apartments of 1,2,3 and 4 bedrooms and the resort features faith centres including mosques and churches. A private airport and medical facilities are also to be built.

Zanzibar Amber Resort is set to change tourism in east Africa, Pennyroyal said.

“With the commissioning of this luxury tropical resort by Pennyroyal Gibraltar the premium hospitality offerings and world-class facilities will benchmark luxury in Africa,” the firm said.

Covering 1,520 hectares of prime Indian Ocean coastline the resort will encompass an variety of hospitality and leisure facilities. There will be five international hotels including the Anantara, a Signature Ernie Els Design 18-hole golf course – the first in east Africa, a deep water marina, aqua park, an underwater restaurant, an equestrian centre and superyacht facilities.

Zanzibar Amber Resort will be the largest hospitality investment and resort in east Africa, expected to create more than 1,500 jobs for locals, making it Zanzibar’s’ largest employer and taxpayer.

Zanzibar has a diverse history and was under Portuguese, Arabic and British control before its independence in 1963. Today, the panoramic paradise is one of the top tourist attractions in the Indian Ocean and was labelled one of the World’s Heritage Sites in 2000.

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