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Nation's First Water Park Opens in Bishoftu

Aug 31 , 2019
By SELAMAWIT MENGESAHA ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )

The park, lying on 72,000Sqm of land, features a water play area and 123 international shopping outlets.

Kuriftu Resort & Spa inaugurated the nation's first-ever water amusement park in Bishoftu on August 31, 2019. The park, lying on 72,000Sqm of land, features a water play area and 123 international shopping outlets.

The water park rests on a 19,700sqm plot, while the shopping centre lies on the remaining 52,300Sqm. The water amusement park serves adults and kids and has a capacity of accommodating 5,000 visitors daily, charging 700 Br for kids and 840 Br for adults.

The expansion, done with the main purpose of providing entertainment activities for Ethiopian and African diaspora, gives international standard services, said Tadios Getachew, CEO of Kuriftu.

The resort has 108 rooms, three restaurants, four conference halls, a spa and wellness centre, hair salons, table tennis, volleyball, fishing and a swimming pool. The water park can accommodate 1,980 people at one time and creates job opportunities for 1,000 people.


The expansion, done with the main purpose of providing entertainment activities for Ethiopian and African diaspora, gives international standard services, said Tadios Getachew, CEO of Kuriftu.

Both the construction and supervision work was conducted by Boston Partner Plc, which has 3,000 employees. The company also own's Boston Day Spa Building on Bole Road.

Guangzhou Entertainment Technology Co. Ltd supplied the facilities and undertook product assembly.


The park will have 12 facilities designated for different recreational activities, such as the water wave pool and a stage to host concerts and events with beach-like features.

Located in the partially operational Cultural Village of Kuriftu, the water park requires 1.2 million litres of water to fill up initially. After the initial fill up, it is going to consume 400,000lt of water every day.


The park, lying on 72,000Sqm of land, features a water play area and 123 international shopping outlets.

The park targets tourists coming to the country. In addition, it also plans to attract residents in the local area through various features such as the water play areas, swimming pools, water slides and water playgrounds.

Besides the village, Kuriftu has five operational resorts and hotels in Bishoftu, Bahir Dar, Semera, Langano and Adama, while the construction of three more resorts is underway.

The Gheralta Resort, located in the mountainous parts of Tigray, Burayu Kuriftu Africa Village in Oromia Regional State, and its first overseas branch on Moucha Island, Djibouti, are the projects under construction by Kuriftu.

Kuriftu also built a 14,000Sqm foundation to eventually build 200 extra rooms and a convention centre at its Bishoftu resort.


Experts in the area believe that the hotel expansion of Kuriftu will add value to the economy, as it will attract non-national visitors.

“The country’s tourism market segment is focused on different historical places,” said Fisseha Aseres, a hotel and tourism consultant.

“Kuriftu’s expansion opens the door for new market strategies," added Fisseha.

The expert believes that Kuriftu’s initiative will encourage other hotel owners to expand their services into new areas.


PUBLISHED ON Aug 31,2019 [ VOL 20 , NO 1009]

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