M.A. Kharafi & Sons is a private Kuwait-based group with diversified interests and activities worldwide in construction, infrastructure development, real estate, agro-industries, manufacturing, investment and tourism development. It has completed constructions for hospitals, housing schemes, hotels, irrigation, water treatment plants, pumping stations, oil and gas pipelines, port, airports, and other civil and engineering projects.
The company is active in Albania, Belize, Botswana, Bulgaria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Maldives, Mozambique, Niger, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, West Indies and Yemen.
M.A. Kharafi & Sons was established in The Gambia in June 2003 and is focusing on several areas of investment such as agriculture, fisheries and tourism. The company is currently building a five-star hotel resort at Brufut Heights. In 2004, the company acquired the Kairaba Beach Hotel which at present is the only five-star hotel in The Gambia.
Construction Division
Currently, the company is carrying out the rehabilitation of major roads in The Gambia, linking Farafenni to Laminkoto (115 km) and Kerewan to Farafenni (56 km) on the north bank of the River Gambia. On the south bank, the company will carry out the renovation of the Mandina Ba–Soma road (141 km). The rehabilitation of the runway apron and taxiway at Banjul International Airport will also be undertaken by M.A. Kharafi & Sons.
Tourism Division
The M.A. Kharafi Group is currently developing the first world-class five-star hotel of its kind in The Gambia operated by a leading international hotel chain operator. The hotel will be the ideal residence for tourists wishing to spend their holiday in Africa in a peaceful, tropical environment in style and comfort.
Spread on 1.6 km of beach front, the hotel facilities include: 195 guestrooms, indoor and outdoor restaurants, bar lounge and pool bar, several swimming pools, a large conference centre, indoor and outdoor function and entertainment areas, indoor and outdoor children play areas, a spa and health centre, the indigenous forest and nature trail, and local crafts market.
The hotel also offers business guests the state of the art business facilities. A conference centre with main conference hall, meeting and seminar rooms, business centre, ballrooms, lounges and indoor and outdoor function areas are the ideal place for international conferences, corporate functions and special banquets.
The hotel spa and health centre, set in a secluded location amid a forest of baobab trees, has been specially designed to provide guests with all possible facilities for relaxation, natural therapy and physical fitness.
This new development is located in Brufut Heights, an ideal spot for an exquisite five-star hotel. Only a 15-minute drive from Banjul International Airport and a 10-minute drive to the tourist areas in the Kombos, makes the hotel easily accessible while remaining conveniently secluded.
AgriMak / Agriculture Division
Kharafi has invested more than US$6 million in the establishment of a world class farm and pack house in the Gambia, which produces a variety of fresh vegetables for export to Europe and other high value markets.
Kafuta Fresh Produce is a modern facility situated 45 km from Banjul within easy reach of the airport and seaport. The facility consists of 208 ha under drip irrigation growing a wide range of vegetables as required by the market in Europe. Tomatoes, peppers, chillies, aubergines, melons and lettuce are among the main crops produced. In addition potatoes and onions are grown for the local and regional market.
A fully equipped nursery with a capacity of 2 million seedlings produces the raw material for planting in the fields. Growing is closely monitored by a well-qualified team of professional agronomists and other crop experts to ensure compliance with the most modern phyto-sanitary requirements.
The pack-house is equipped with advanced hydro and forced air cooling to remove field heat rapidly from newly harvested vegetables to ensure maximum freshness. Fully trained skilled workers wash, sort and grade the vegetables in a modern hygienic environment. These are then packed in boxes and cartons to customers' requirements and stored in modern cool rooms at the appropriate temperatures before transporting them by road to the airport in fully refrigerated trucks. They are then taken to Europe daily by air charter from Banjul.
In addition the farm provides opportunities for the community growers enabling them to set up their own satellite blocks, grown under Kafuta staff supervision, and then supply the pack house. The nursery supplies these and other growers in The Gambia, ensuring that plant stock continues to improve. The farm is also used as a training facility for growers.
Kafuta Fresh Produce is the leading supplier of fresh vegetables in West Africa and is paving the way in agricultural development through partnership between big business and small growers. AgriMak and the Kharafi Group understand that cooperation rather than competition is the key to development.
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