Environmentalists oppose Victoria Falls hotel project

LUSAKA, Nov 1 4(Reuters) Zambian environmentalists oppose a 260 million dollars plan to construct two hotels, a golf course and hundreds of chalets in a park near the famous Victoria Falls world heritage site, officials have said.

Zambia's Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) has given permission to local and foreign investors to go ahead with the project in Livingstone, 480 km south of Lusaka, even though environmental groups said yesterday it would harm the local ecology.

Critics say the park and its wildlife, which includes black rhinos, could be damaged by the development and Victoria Falls could lose its status as one of Africa's biggest tourist sites.

Peter Sinkamba, the head of one of the environmental groups opposed to the plan, said the government broke the law because it did not do a proper study of potential ecological damage.

''The whole project has been done in reverse ... the (law) was not followed (and) this is an anomaly,'' he told journalists.

Environmentalists have threatened to ask the courts to block the project if the government allows it to proceed on its present site.

There was no immediate comment from the government.

Legacy Holdings Zambia Ltd, a subsidiary of Legacy International Group, plans to construct the two hotels, a golf course and some 450 chalets on the fringes of one of Africa's longest rivers, the Zambezi, close to Victoria Falls.

A ZAWA official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the government understood the environmentalists' fears but did not think there was anything wrong with going ahead with the project.

Legacy International chairman Bart Dorrestein recently told Zambian media the project would balance a respect for nature with the need to provide jobs and meet other social challenges in Africa.

''The site should be developed with strict adherence to (ecological) recommendations,'' Dorrestein was quoted as saying by the Post newspaper.

Officials say the project will create 2,000 new jobs, attract 150,000 additional tourists to the area and provide Zambia with 170 million dollars more per year in foreign exchange.

Reuters BDP DB0931