Cape Verde’s tourism industry would grow strongly in the next few years – also helping other parts of the economy – said the country’s Prime Minister José Maria Neves, quoted by Portuguese news agency Lusa.

He was speaking at a Monday ceremony marking the start of construction work in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, for what is termed an integrated leisure entertainment project.
Gaming services company Macau Legend Development – co-chaired by Macau businessman David Chow – says it will invest at least 250 million euros (US$273.7 million) in the project through two local subsidiaries.

The facility would take three years to build, providing more than 2,000 jobs during that period, said Lusa.

The new casino-resort would on completion be Cape Verde’s largest tourism project, covering an area of more than 152,700 square metres, added the outlet.

“This project is another milestone for the building and transformation of Cape Verde,” said Mr Neves.

Cape Verde’s Prime Minister added he expected other hotels would open in the future, which would generate more jobs in the tourism industry in the next few years. The African nation currently receives 600,000 tourists per year. Mr Neves said he hoped the annual tally could increase significantly in the future.