5. Fleet
The initial deployment of Cabo Verde Fast Ferry will consist of (2) new fast ferries designed specifically for the waters of Cape Verde and built at 45 meters in length equipped with all the necessary security and amenities for passenger safety and comfort. The vessels will carry 50 tons of commercial cargo and 158 passengers. Equipped with a twin diesel engine that can deliver 20 knots per hour, each vessel can complete a full journey of the southern and northern islands during sunlight hours. Besides being extremely fuel efficient and low in operating expenses, one of the best attractions of this new vessels will be its logistics. As a combination passenger and cargo, it will require that all cargo are wheeled on and off the boat by customers' own commercial trucks and vans. This rapid loading and unloading capability will provide efficiency, reduce port turnaround to no more than 30 minutes and the vessel can depart early each morning, make its rounds and return in time to spend the night at the home port.

6. Market Analysis Summary
Initial market focus for Cabo Verde Fast Ferry during implementation phase will include thousands of foreign and domestic traffic that already exist and continue to grow but are unable to get around due to the lack of predictable inter-island connectivity.

According to most recent data acquired from the Ministry of Tourism, foreign investment grew from 17 million in 2001 to over one billion dollars in 2006. A total of 81% of the value was spent in preparation for tourism industry and the numbers continue to climb even higher with new investments such as Santiago Golf Resort ($80M) and Flamengo Golf Resort ($60M) both identified for the island of Santiago.
The Cesaria Resort, one of the largest tourist resorts on the rchipelago promoted by Dubai's Profile Group will receive 500 million euros for development. The first phase of the project is estimated to cost 125 million euros and will cover 400 hectares and a luxury hotel with 250 rooms and 1,000 apartments, as well as leisure areas. Another major investment promoted by British investors will build two tourist resorts, one on Sal Island (Murdeira Beach) and another on Sao Vicente (Baía das Gatas), with a total investment of 2.5 billion euros. These two resorts include four golf courses, at a time when others are being developed on the archipelago, as well as marinas, shopping areas and hotels.

British newspaper, Financial Times dedicated a series of articles on Cape Verde in its November 13, 2007 edition. The country’s economic situation, its musical rhythms, and a portrait of some of its political figures are among the subjects of the Financial Times’ reports, which sought to shed light on reasons behind English investors’ gold rush to the small Atlantic archipelago.

A new international airport was inaugurated in Boavista in 2007 and another will be inaugurated in S. Vicente first quarter of 2009 bringing the total to 4 international airports. Recently completed, the new international airport of Praia is designed and projected to handle 1,000,000 international passengers per year by the end of 2012.
As the stream of income increases, domestic traveling will also see a tremendous jump in inter-island pleasure trips among Capeverdeans. Islands such as Brava, Maio, SNicolau and Fogo with limited commerce options at the moment will experience heavy demands for import and export of goods and services.

7. Market Needs
Economically speaking, the results for Cape Verde have been visible and in 2007, the nation surpassed one billion dollars of investment in the tourism industry. Amount of check-ins at hotels have grown at a rate of 20 to 25% per year, from 67,000 in 2001 to 312,880 in 2007.

The island of Sal with 60% of check-ins is clearly the main tourist destination. Highlighting the island of Sal, in 2006, as the most recent data from Airport Security Administration shows, 15,632 aircrafts, 772,660 passengers and 2.4 thousand tons of cargo were moved at the Amilcar Cabral International Airport. An additional 47.6 tons of cargo were processed at the port of Palmeira according to Enapor.

Tourism is one of the fundamental activities on the strategic developmental plan for Cabo Verde to generate income, employment and development. Although it's a good strategy and the numbers have been impressive for a country that is only recently being discovered, the truth is that the majority of these tourists remain on the islands of arrival in S. Vicente, Sal, Boavista and Santiago.

For quicker market penetration and to effectively serve the current market needs during implementation phase, Cabo Verde Fast Ferry has planned for 3 high-speed passenger/cargo ferries along 3 major triangle routes interconnecting Praia and S. Vicente:

• Sao Vicente-Santo Antao- Sao Nicolau- Sal
• Praia-Fogo-Brava-Maio
• Praia-Boavista-Sal

By meeting its first year objective of transporting 62,000 tons of cargo and 183,000 passengers, Cabo Verde Fast Ferry will only satisfy about 25% of the cargo and approximately 50% of the current passenger needs but will be positioned to accommodate a larger percentage of the market in subsequent years...  [read more]