SAMBALA  VILLAGE

Hi Everyone,

As promised I am very pleased to provide you with a further update regarding progress for Sambala Village. I know many of you have requested answers to specific questions that the Cape Verde Portal has assimilated for us and can confirm that all answers to these including a few more questions that we are frequently asked will follow.

Progress Update

Our central administration and customer service office has now been opened and running for a couple of weeks and has immediately enabled us to more efficiently organise our client communications and administration, something that will impact upon all of our existing and potential clients over the next couple of weeks. While perfectly functional I would like to inform you that our current home is only a temporary measure and that we have already identified and are taking steps to secure an extremely prestigious location that will provide us with the facilities required to invite our clients and prospects to events planned for later in the year ? more news later!

As many of you will also be aware Philip Watson (Sales and Marketing Director) has rapidly established himself as the customer link we desperately needed to underpin the confidence that has been shown in Sambala Village from amongst our client investors. Philip is the central point of contact for you all and along with his team looks forward to talking to everyone personally while at the same time managing your expectations as we move towards then through the build itself and on to the point at which the keys are transferred into your possession. In addition Philip has embarked upon some research to provide the company with complete control over our prided brand and it?s presentation in the market. It won?t surprise you to learn that  the sensational interest and profile that Sambala Village and its associated developments has achieved recently has inevitably also attracted the mandatory scaremongering and miss-selling, non of which I can categorically confirm is neither accurate or justified. To combat this we will also be assessing our agency network to determine those partners that hold the company and it?s clients closest to heart thus ensuring brand integrity as we progress with our developments on Cape Verde.

As ever there will be more releases to come so for now all that is left is for me, on behalf of Sambala Developments, to once again thank you all for your interest and support in our incredible venture.

Dominic McGlynn

Question 1:  When will Phase 1 start?

Answer:        Materials are being imported and the target commencement is first week of June 2005.

Question 2:  When will there be a road to the site?

Answer:        There is an existing track to the beach and site which will be upgraded by the Government before completion of Phase 1.  Site traffic does not have to wait for this new road as they are able to use an alternative route to the site.

Question 3:  When will there be electricity?

Answer:        There is electricity already supplied to the nearby village of Vale da Custa by the national energy (and water) provision company, ?Electra? from which mains supply will be connected to from the start of construction. We will also install a 750Kva diesel-powered generator for the whole of Sambala Village to act as back-up during power cuts.  Increasingly, wind and solar energy power sources will be installed as development progresses.

Question 4:  When will there be water?

Answer:        This will be tapped from the nearby village during construction.  However, an order for a desalination plant will be placed in London during January 2006 to ensure that more than ample supply is made through the course of Sambala Village?s development.

Question 5:  How will the water be sourced?

Answer:        Groundwater supply for construction purposes is already available from the nearby village 1.8 km away and will be replaced by the desalination plant.

Question 6:  How will the wastewater/sewage be dealt with?

Answer:        A UK company will build a wastewater treatment plant that will recycle the wastewater for irrigation purposes and also create an odourless fertiliser.  The treatment plant will be 4 times larger than originally planned because the nearby future Santiago Villas project and Sambala Hotel Resort will also use this plant.

Question 7:  What are the timescales for foundations, build, roof etc?

Answer:        Infrastructure completion, when 2^nd stage payments will be due, for Phase 1 will be in September this year with the completion of infrastructure of each subsequent Phase being approximately every 2 to 3 months thereafter. The completion of foundations takes only about a month after infrastructure completion of each Phase, when 3^rd stage payments will be due.  The 4^th stage payments are due on completion of walls and roofs, approximately 4 to 5 months for apartments and 2 to 3 months for townhouses, after completion of foundations.  Final stage payments will be due on completion of all fixtures and fittings and handing over of keys, approximately 8 months for apartments and 4 months for townhouses, after completion of walls and roofs.

Question 8:   When are all 5 phases due to be completed?

Answer:        The deadline is February 2010, although it is very likely that this will be brought forward by several months.

Question 9: When will Phase 2 be started and what are target times for Phases?

Answer:        These have been explained above.  When the programme starts, it will be a constant and continual build until completion.

Question 10:  When will further Phases be released and what will be the future projected times?

Question 11:  When will Phase 3 be released?

Answers to Questions 10 and 11:  Future Phases will be released for sale as and when Sambala feel it is appropriate.  We are currently preparing for the release of Phase 3 and have opened our central office in Oxford to ensure that administration and customer services are prepared to provide ample support and information to our clients following the next sales releases.

Question 12:   When will the golf course development commence and who will be developing the course?

Answer:        There are two phases of golf resort development both with 18-hole golf courses. Each resort will take about 6 to 7 years to complete the development of their associated clubhouses, academies, spas, hotels and private residences.  The supply of adequate irrigation water from the wastewater recycling plant conditions the speed of the actual golf course development, but it is anticipated to take about 3 years to achieve an 18-hole course.  From completion of Phase 1 of Sambala Village, irrigation of the start of the first golf course, just to the north of the village, will commence with landscaping, designed by Dave Thomas Ltd, undertaken beforehand. 

Question 13:            What is guaranteed rental income paid to purchasers?

Answer:        We will be forming a letting agency which will assist purchasers by offering them a guaranteed income through letting their properties if they wish.  We have yet to decide on the amount we would pay, but promise to offer a fair price, after taking into consideration all of the related issues.

Question 14:    Why does Sambala Developments use banking facilities in Switzerland?

Answer:        This is only a temporary measure.  Bank accounts have now been opened in Cape Verde at Banco Interatlantico for Sambala Investimentos, Lda and Vila Sambala, Lda (?Sambala Village, Ltd?) due to be registered very soon in Praia.  Such Companies will have the ownership title of the related tourism development terrains owned wholly by the Grepne family transferred to them once formed.  The asset value of the relevant terrains will augment the social capital of each Company dramatically.  Grupo Caixa Geral de Depositos, Portugal?s biggest banking group, who also wholly own Banco Interatlantico and 62% of Banco Comercial do Atlantico (thus having control over about 90% of the banking sector in Cape Verde) are willing to provide bank guarantees (bonds) for the development of the Sambala projects once the Companies are formed.

Question 15:   How strong is the group who is financing the project?

Answer:  Currently the assets of the Grepne family, at around ?80 million, are the security. Despite the support of Banco Interatlantico, there are insufficient hard currency reserves in order to back such a development. This, in turn, is why interest rates are so high, over 9%, despite inflation similar to that of the UK. We are in talks with the parent bank of Banco Interatlantico with a view to obtaining bank bonding. The parent bank, Grupo Caixa Geral de Depositos, are also considering providing an overdraft facility to the developer if needed, although the need to draw on this is unlikely as cash flow forecasts indicate for the build of the project. We expect to report on the outcome of the referred talks by the middle of this year.

Question 16:  Many people have made their first payment and some cheques have been cashed and others not.  What is happening?

Answer:  We apologise for this and for any inconvenience this may have caused.  We have now banked all cheques following the opening of our central administration office in Oxford on 18^th April and are quickly clearing away a backlog of admin issues and establishing contact with all our clients.

Question 17:   I wish to make a site visit, is there anybody I can contact to do this?

Answer:  We shall be opening another office in Praia before the end of May which will be able to provide visits to the site terrain and general info about Sambala Village and the other tourism  projects of the Grepne family.