The ground breaking ceremony of Dunas Beach Resort on the Island of Sal in Cape Verde took place on 13 November 2009.

Dunas ground breaking

The Prime Minister had graciously agreed to preside over the event but was unfortunately taken ill a couple of days before. It was, however, an honour that the Minister of State attended in his place. Activities commenced with the Minister of State and Rob Jarrett, Chairman of The Resort Group, using golden shovels to pour the first block of concrete and then laid a ceremonial stone. As is tradition, a lucky €1 coin was thrown into the block and champagne bottles were popped as the attendees drank a congratulatory toast.

Also in attendance were the Secretary of State for the Economy, a representative of the Mayor of Sal, the President of the CI and many other Dignitaries from the various authorities of Cape Verde. A number of sales Agents plus Purchasers who have already bought property on Dunas Beach Resort were also present. Various members of the press attended and recorded the event.

The ground breaking activity was organised and supervised by construction company Grupo San Jose and their joint venture partner Sogei.

Guests were then invited to a reception at the Hotel Odjo D’Agua in Santa Maria where Champagne, Caipirinhas and Canapes were waiting on arrival.

On the way back to Santa Maria, the Dignitaries were taken on an interesting diversion as they were given a tour of Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa just down the beach. Tortuga is the first project that The Resort Group undertook on the Island of Sal and it was only in January of this year that the Ground Breaking event took place with the Prime Minister. Everyone agreed that the progress of Tortuga has been nothing short of amazing. Grupo San Jose and Sogei have worked relentlessly and the 300 or so workers, mainly from the local workforce, were acknowledged as being an absolute credit to Cape Verde (there will be some 500 workers employed on the construction of Dunas).

At the Hotel Odjo D’Agua the formal speeches then followed starting with a presentation on the Dunas project by developer The Resort Group. This included the positive reasons why Cape Verde and the Island of Sal were chosen and that the Resort has bucked the trend during the current worldwide economic uncertainty, evidenced by nearly 600 of the Villas and Apartments already being sold (which represents more than 2/3rds). Dunas will also include a 5-Star Hotel with a variety of quality restaurants, elegant and stylish bars, state of the art gymnasium, luxury spa, sports facilities, huge communal pools, shops and all the amenities you would expect from a 5-Star Resort. Over €80 million will be invested into Dunas making it a Resort that everyone can be proud of.

The next speech gave thanks, on behalf of the Chairman and everyone at The Resort Group, to the Minister of State for presiding over the event and all associated parties for their support of Dunas Beach Resort. Although there were too many names to mention everyone involved, particular thanks were offered to President Cardoso Santos and all at the CI, architects HCP, ‘Scapa’ and Victor Fidalgo, Erico Verissimo, Loid Engenharia, all at the Municipality, the Municipal Assembly, City Council, Registrar, Notary, Chairman of the Port, Chief of Police, Alexandra Pereira law firm, all staff of The Resort Group PLC, Luis Rodrigues and the team at GPA law firm, PWC, Savills, Studio DM, Oxygen, Signature Interiors, furniture company Rhooms, Locus, The Space Studio, Land-Scope, Servoplan, Emission Zero, Halcrow Yolles, Inca Media, IVC Media, Porcelanosa, Comprex, Zanette, ECP, Technasol, Geo Tech, APP, PM International, the Press, neighbouring developments & hotels, other Developers & Promoters, Cabocan, banks Banif & BCN, sales Agents, Purchasers and the people of Sal & Cape Verde. Special thanks was given to construction company Grupo San Jose and joint venture partner Sogei for the tremendous work on Tortuga and for their professionalism & commitment to Dunas.

Dunas ground breaking

There then followed a momentous announcement as The Resort Group confirmed that Management Agreements have been signed with the Sol Melia hotel group to operate the Dunas and Tortuga 5-Star Hotel Resorts, under the MELIA brand.

MELIA Dunas Beach Resort and MELIA Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa will provide combined hotel accommodation of around 1,000 units and give a further tremendous boost to the Island’s tourism.

A separate Press Release issued from Sol Melia and The Resort Group gives more detail of the announcement but a few interesting facts that highlight the magnitude and size of the Sol Melia group are shown below: -

* Over 50 years experience.
* Over 300 hotels in 28 countries.
* Employs 34,000 people from 80 countries worldwide.
* 5.3 Million registered customers.
* Assets of over €4 Billion.
* The largest hotel group in Spain.
* 6th Largest in Europe.
* 15th Largest in the world.
* The largest ‘Resort’ hotel operator on the planet!

The negotiations between The Resort Group and Sol Melia have been ongoing for well over a year and resulted in The Resort Group committing millions of Euros of additional spend into the facilities and amenities of Dunas and Tortuga. This was required to meet the exacting standards of the 5-Star Melia brand.

Sol Melia coming to the Island is a major coup for Sal and clearly demonstrates that Cape Verde is a country on the up and a country that is competing strongly on the tourism world stage!

The speech ended by confirming The Resort Group's long term commitment to Cape Verde and stressed that it is a great privilege and honour to be involved with the country. This was summed up by the final words (as had happened at the Tortuga event) that were spoken in Creole ... "Bo terra sta na nha coracao" (Your land is in my heart).

The Minister of State then made an impassioned speech and was very complimentary about Dunas Beach Resort and the economic benefits it will bring. The support of the Government to The Resort Group was kindly reiterated both on Tortuga and Dunas plus all future projects. Great emphasis was made of the progress being made by Cape Verde, especially as an international tourism destination, and the successful efforts everyone is making to encourage international investment.

All guests then enjoyed a party for the rest of the evening. The festivities started with drinks accompanied by musicians playing relaxing classics in the background and then moved onto a private beach for a BBQ. Partygoers then danced the night away to superb reggae band ‘Dub Squad’.

Rob Jarrett said, "This has been an amazing day for everyone at The Resort Group. Breaking ground on our second development this year and the announcement of Sol Melia operating both Resorts makes this one of the proudest days of my working life. I am extremely grateful to the Minister of State and the Prime Minister for their support and to everyone who has contributed to the success of Dunas and Tortuga. The people of Cape Verde, and Sal in particular, have been so friendly and made us feel very welcome. We will work tirelessly and do everything in our power to deliver quality Resorts that will benefit the Island for years to come."