The project Sponsor and Shareholder is Union Gold Zambia Ltd (UGZ or the Sponsor), a repeat client of IFC. UGZ through its majority owned subsidiary Protea Hotel Zambia (PHZ) is the largest hospitality provider in Zambia. They have successfully executed eight Protea greenfield hotel projects across Zambia, with a total of 612 rooms.  The Sponsor also owns a construction company, Velos Enterprise Ltd, which was the EPC for all PHZ greenfield projects.

Total project cost is US$29.6 million. IFC’s proposed investment is up to US$9.0 million of debt in the form of an A-Loan.

Project will be located in the Kasisi area, Chongwe district, Lusaka, Zambia.

  This is a Category B project as per IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability (2012) because of potentially limited E&S impacts that may result from the construction or operation of the project.  Construction impacts are short term and not significant, while operational impacts are expected to be generally site specific and can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized good practices and design criteria.

Key E&S risks and issues associated with the project include; the company's capacity and systems to assess and manage E&S risks and issues associated with its operations; provision of fair and safe working conditions for its employees and contractors embedded into the human resources (HR) and OHS policies and practices; resource efficiency measures with focus on energy and water conservation; monitoring and management wastes and emissions, and engagement with communities and stakeholders.