Santiago Sao Francisco Developments
Sambala Development Sao Francisco Bay, Santiago
A Norwegian called Daniel Grepne received some land on Santiago
as a bad debt from the Government and launched a housing project..
After he died, his son Johnathan who lives on the Cote D`Azur took
it on. He does not reply to email or fax.The development is 45 minutes
drive over unrepaired cobbled roads from Prainha but a bit closer
to the airport. It takes a 4x4 to get there or a £35 taxi
ride. There is now a lot of building completed -mostly blocks of
flats set on a high cliff way above one of the best beaches in Santiago.
The construction is unusual in that steel girders are being welded
into frames to which are attached doors and window frames. The steelwork
is covered with polystyrene foam which is then coated with cement.
How this will fare for sound and sun proofing remains to be demonstrated,
when the first owners get their keys. This was due to be in February
2007, but has been delayed by lack of Escrituras. Cobbled roads
and swimming pools are being established between the blocks and
the developer is grooming palms and bananas to make the site bloom.
But it will take some time. The Government has started to build
a 6.2km stretch of tarmac road from the Praia ring road roundabout
to Sao Francisco Beach. Resales of villas are now coming on the
market at around £139,000.
R from the Canaries was an early visitor to Sambala.
"I was there in July, 2005. I bribed a taxi to take us to
the Sambala site, because it's an incredibly bad road up there.
The taxi took about 30 mins to get us there because the road twists
and turns up and down on a dirt track with big potholes all over
the place. We eventually got to a big sign advertising the Sambala
development with a plan. It is high above the sea on a massive site
covered in rocks of all sizes and shapes. The driver said that in
August he had heard that building would start with 2000 workers.
We drove through poverty and squalor to get there,with goats, pigs
and chicken running around everywhere. Maybe the wages will help
these people get on their feet ...but it will take many years I
think."
And A from Yorkshire said in 2006 before Sambala was built
"Sambala is an awful site. It is 800m from the sea, but perched
on a cliff 300m above it. It is way behind schedule. There is nothing
there. Santiago is years off becoming a tourist island, It is dreadful."
M from London found nothing there at Sambala.
"Its got a long way to go. I went out to that supposed Sambala
development in June, 2005. The roads are not there. There are just
3 signs. You`re so far out of Praia that when you're thereat Sambla
your stuck there."
R from Devon an early visitor is more positive about Santiago but
not Sambala
"Santiago is very different from Sal. The street markets
are colourful. But the Sambala development is too far off completion
to be of any interest."
T from the MidEast is disillusioned about Sambala but hanging on.
"We were initially quite excited at the Sambala Development
and did decide to try and purchase a 2 bed unit, however the "experience"
has proved to be quite a difficult process. We did put in an application
and sent of our cheque to K at Sambala. Then despite many mails
and phone calls we eventually found the senior partner had died
and thrown the project into chaos. To be fair to K I don't think
he knew what was happening either. I believe that the whole Sambala
project was vastly oversubscribed and if/when the next Sambala blocks
are released then there will be a 7.5% hike in price. To make matters
worse our friends who we introduced to the Sambla project 2 weeks
after we applied have been offered an apartment directly by the
new sales director at Sambala, a cancellation apparently. Given
the problems they have the feel good factor certainly seems to be
waning for us with Sambala. I still believe that the Sambala project
has a great deal of potential with the associated golf and marina.
However I feel this is now looking to be long term, only phase one
has to date been started so 3-4 years from now to complete thisSambala
village with building works for the next 8-10. Rental is very important
to us and the returns therefore are not readily visible at present.
Also the fact that no euro mortgage would be available until completion
is a concern when no completion date could be guaranteed. Having
said that I feel we will simply wait and see if we are offered the
Sambala apartment of our choice, if not we will probably pull out."
O from Birmingham saw it before building had started at Sambala
"Visited Sambala on Saturday - it's a big joke. Miles away
from Praia down a narrow dirt track (which a coach could not pass
through). It's in the middle of nowhere. And the so called beach
can be seen from Sambala plot in the distance over the cliff with
no road to connect. There is nothing around - indeed on the Sambala
site there is nothing built at all. A couple of lads were there
painting stones. If you plan to invest here - you're either crazy
or haven't been to visit. PS the Sambala brochure has pictures from
other islands."
G is a builder from Scotland has seen recent progress at Sambala
"I visited the Sambala resort in March 2006 and have reserved
a property after being given a guided tour by a site agent. I could
see evidence of the ring road (from the airport around Praia which
will cross the road to Sambala from Praia) being built. Overall,
I liked it and think it will be a good resort. I toured the island
and think it has great potential with varied tourist activities.
Much more interesting than Sal if you want more than just to sit
in the sun. I think Sambala Developments will have their work cut
out, though, to complete enough properties to fill a weekly flight
from the UK. I'm a builder. Some 80% of new houses in Scotland are
built exactly this way except with timber. Sambala is building to
UK standards and and importing most materials from the UK. The advantage
with steel over timber is that there is likely to be less shrinkage
in the finished house. Traditional masonry built housing in the
UK is going out of fashion. Timber frame kits have been the growing
trend for 30 years because you can get a house wind and watertight
in 10 days after foundations are laid."
T is an estate agent from Barcelona.
"The Sambala project is in the middle of nowhere with a route
taken straight from a scene from the film Black Hawk Down!!!!!
The project is however underway but at a very early stage with ground
being cleared and roads being constructed and laid by hand, some
containers are now on site with a few diggers, I was pleased to
see this due to the concerns I have read on websites of people who
had parted with their cash, I will forward you some pictures of
Sambala."
R from London has discoved another issue Sambala furniture packs
"I have just had the furniture pack literature from Sambala and
I am horrified at the prices. For a 2 bedroom apartment in Sambala
village the cheapest package works out at nearly £15,000. That is
twice as much as I was expecting. Does anybody know of a furniture
pack provider that can do it cheaper than Sambala?"
A from Staffs was upset by Sambala prices, too
"I was pretty shocked at Sambala prices. They have given
us five options ranging from €17,000 - 35,000 to kit out our
apartment. We haven't spent that much in our own home! Has anyone
else found themselves in this situation and had any ideas about
the way to proceed? We thought about shipping our own stuff but
heard the import charges are steep."
S from London thinks its better to buy elsewhere.
"There are a sizeable number of Sambala investors, who have not committed to any of the in-house furniture options and may well have to rent out independently of the Sambala scheme.
I dont want to be overly negative, but the practicalities of their insistance on minimum furnishing standards and not as yet approving any third party supplier (I wonder why), mean that many of us can see the financial benefit of getting furniture elswhere and not taking advantage of the Sambala rental schemes. The Sambala schemes were either the guaranteed 5% return, or Sambala handling the bookings, admin, cleaning and laundry for a percentage, or investors going it alone."
S from Manchester feels that Sambala flats will not let well furnished
or unfurnished
" We are purchasing a 3 bed apartment at Sambala and our packs
start at €22,000 upwards. Sambala have been slow to respond
to concerns., A lot of people feel that Sambala prices are too expensive
but that if they cannot afford them, they would be frozen out of
the 5% Sambala rental guarantee and the 25% Sambala commission lettings.
Amazingly, some people seem quite happy to pay silly prices for
Sambala furniture. Maybe these were early Sambala investors who
paid a bit less for their apartments.Sambala rental yields will
not be high whilst so much work remains undone. We have felt very
let down by the way that we were originally given estimates by Sambala
of a third of the price. Our quote for oak solid wood is €32000
."
M from Susex wonders why there is so little interest in Sambala
"I know that Santiago already has an international airport and
the quality of the build appears high (albeit slow off the mark)
in Sambala, yet few seem to be considering it as a potential purchase.
Santiago island doesn't seem to impress and people feel that it
will lag others in tourist appeal - in spite of a nice beach I understand
at Sambala. Please can someone enlighten me as to the general lack
of enthusiasm?"
J and G fron Shropshire bought without looking first
"“We were looking for somewhere warm in winter because we do all
our main work in summer, and Sambala seemed perfect as we also love
snorkelling and diving, We wanted somewhere big enough for the family
and were also attracted by the prices – we paid £108,000 for ourSambala
villa. The only downside is that we are going to have to wait two
years until it is built. It is the first place we have bought abroad
and we have yet to visit the island, but when I saw a programme
about Sambala, it looked idyllic.”
A from Birmingham was an early investor
"I am an original investor at Sambala as I bought a 1 bed in the
condo blocks over 2.5 years ago. I am absolutely astonished by what
Sambala have written to me about the 18months delay now at March
2008..... they are blaming anything and anyone for the delays other
than themselves...I have many properties on my rental portfolio
and this one Sambala is bottom of my index and I now know why. Yes
I am going for them and on compensation as they have sloping shoulders
but that can be corrected as far as I am concerned."
K from Yorkshire says
"We are all sick and tired of STILL not having any definite dates
for completion and handover from Sambala"
M from Mancehster confirms that communications are still poor.
"Went to see Sambala at Place in the Sun exhtbition at Manchester
didnt really fill me with confidence on delays etc. I purchased
a 1 bedroom apt in C block Sambala haven`t heard anything for ages!
I still havent sorted any furniture package out yet . "
D from Essex has inspected recently
"Visited Santiago and Sambala in November. Santiago island has
no infrastructure at all - maybe in about 20 years time. Visited
site and was astonished to hear they were going live in April! Build
quality was very poor at Sambala - they were already doing remedial
works to Sambala flats which were first to be built. Every beach
on Santiago island resembled a rubbish tip - completely gob smacked.
Could not get away quick enough."
C from Lancs is disappointed at slow progress.
"I got in and was pretty disappointed at progress. It was unlocked,
so that shows you how little was in it and the stairs going up from
the courtyard had only rough chipboard treads. Based on the Sambala
information, I expected it to be much further forward. Getting materials
out of customs is a real problem. When I've been out before, the
whole place has been swarming with workers like a beehive. There
were comparatively few people there this time because very little
for them to work with. I saw nobody working , there were some machines,
diggers, etc, working in the courtyard. Most people seemed to be
working on the new townhouses, though some are still just foundation
slabs and I don't believe they have started on the second swimming
pool.
Re food, I believe Sambala intend to have someone open a "snack
bar" in one of the shop units, because there won't be enough custom
for the restaurant in the early days. However, they will struggle
to get anyone to take the units until the internal road is finished
because of the amount of dust. At the moment it looks like something
out of the Wild West. It was very windy. However, in the apartment
courtyards, you are not aware of what's going on outside.
Apart from the lack of gas supply - a real issue in my view -
my main concern is the access road. The current track is pretty
precarious, but it has noticeably deteriorated under the weight
of construction traffic. It really brought home just how bad that
track is. It's passable, but you have to go very carefully if you
have a vehicle that doesn't have much clearance. The road from the
resort down to the beach is also a lot worse than I remember it.
Without the new tarmac road, I think they will struggle to stay
open. For investors who are prepared to cope with it being a bit
challenging to get to and from, it will be OK - but I don't think
we can expect anyone to pay money to stay there for a while yet.
"
Sao Francisco Bay Development
Outline planning consent has been granted for a £2.39m mixed-use
development on the island of Santiago, Cape Verde called Sao
Francisco.
The first phase of the 4,000 acres tourist-led project, called
Sao Francisco, has already received government approval and building
work is expected to get under way later this year. Phase one will
involve the construction of a resort town settlement, which will
include around 2,000 homes, hotels, watersports centre, marina,
as well as shops and offices .
Ferenc Ebozue of Casa Group, the company responsible for building
the new scheme, said: "We are delighted that our plans have
received overwhelming support from the Cape Verde Authorities and
look forward to getting on site this year. Sao Francisco will be
the largest development in Cape Verde, redefining the resort concept.
With 23,000 homes planned the development will generate a community
on the island, becoming a new coastal settlement rather than just
another tourist resort."
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