RLB’s cost planning checks out for Lilongwe’s new luxury hotel
The Protea Hotel Lilongwe Ryalls by Marriott will introduce a new level of four-star comfort and hospitality to Malawi’s growing capital city.
Our cost consultants used their unrivalled experience of delivering world-class developments in Africa’s emerging markets to keep the project on course for completion.
By Christiaan Rademan
Director, RLB in Africa
Just as the protea flower is a symbol of change and progress, the new Protea Hotel by Marriott in Lilongwe will mark the transformation of Malawi’s hospitality sector.
Located within the scenic grounds of Lilongwe Golf Club, on the outskirts of the city’s Old Town, the four-star hotel will provide 180 rooms, conference facilities, and a health and fitness complex incorporating a spa and gym.
This latest addition to the portfolio of Protea Hotels by Marriott – the largest hospitality brand in Africa, and part of Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel company – will meet increasing demand for high-end international standard accommodation for business travellers and tourists alike.
It will contribute to the growth and development of the city, in addition to the positive economic impact it has already had through the construction jobs and work for contractors it has created, as well as new livelihoods for the hundreds of people who will work there.
The project, which RLB has supported from the outset with full cost management services, threw up all the procurement challenges you would expect in a developing economy like Malawi, which continually tested even our experienced delivery team.
Real-world forecasting
RLB’s involvement on the project began in 2017 with the preparation of an early cost planning estimate. This was not simply a measurement of drawings available at the time, but a data-driven, experience-based forecast of what it would realistically take to deliver a hotel of this standard in an emerging market environment.
Our forecast drew on regional benchmarking from comparable projects across Africa and incorporated live tender intelligence, escalation modelling and procurement considerations to reflect both cost and delivery context. This approach was intended to anticipate the likely end position of the project, rather than represent a theoretical budget snapshot at a single point in time.
As the project progressed through design development and construction, it was subject to a range of external pressures typical of complex developments in emerging markets, including procurement constraints, programme impacts, and significant currency volatility such as the devaluation of the Malawian Kwacha. These factors influenced the project’s evolving budget positions over time.
Against this backdrop, the projected final account has ultimately converged closely with RLB’s original real-world forecast for a hotel of this nature. This outcome does not reflect a linear or uncomplicated cost journey, but rather highlights the distinction between budgets that evolve in response to changing constraints and a forecast grounded in experience, data and an understanding of how such projects are delivered in practice.
FACTS AND FIGURES
Project: Protea Hotel Lilongwe Ryalls by Marriott
Location: Lilongwe, Malawi
Client: Oasis Hospitality (Pty) Ltd
Grade: Four stars
Keys: 180
Size: 11,000m² gross building area
OUR CLIENT SAYS...
“As the owner’s representative, we understood this project would be challenging. We evaluated our partners (consultants) very carefully and the reason we decided on RLB was for the vast success they have in completing successful developments in Africa.
“RLB brought a level of realism and commercial clarity that was critical to the successful delivery of this project. Their advice was consistently grounded in experience, and their team provided transparent, reliable guidance throughout a complex and challenging process.”
Oasis Hospitality (Pty) Ltd
Lessons reinforced
Our team had to contend with the everyday realities of building in nascent economies, where it is a constant battle to restrict cost overruns due to cashflow disruptions, currency fluctuations, import delays, limited availability of in-country materials, and a lack of local contractors with relevant skills and expertise.
The project reinforced the lessons learnt through practical experience of delivering complex developments in similar conditions across the continent:
- Secure hard currency before construction
Starting without confirmed access to hard currency may appear pragmatic, yet it consistently leads to escalation and disruption in emerging markets. On this project, up to 80% of building materials, specialist components and furniture, fixtures and equipment required offshore procurement, primarily from South Africa, Europe, North America and Asia.
Ongoing shortages of hard currency resulted in sustained procurement delays, as payments to offshore suppliers could not be processed timeously. These constraints had a direct and cumulative impact on programme certainty, sequencing and overall project momentum.
- Avoid splitting contracts or currencies
This is because multi-phase or multi-currency structures often appear flexible on paper but consistently reduce control and efficiency in practice, increasing risk and inevitably leading to project delays.
- Finalise design specifications and tender packages upfront
Fully scoped and market-tested documentation provides certainty of cost, scope and sequencing, which is far more effective than applying reactive value engineering later. Changing the design and detailing during construction almost always adds time and cost, reinforcing the need for complete design and procurement before work begins.
- Select the right contractor, not just the lowest price
Accepting unrealistically low tender pricing from local contractors can lead to delays, claims and higher final costs compared to procuring experienced, properly resourced contractors, even if they are based abroad. Thorough technical adjudication and pre-qualification before commercial tendering are essential safeguards.
And not least…
- Plan deliberately
In Africa, slow is fast – thorough early planning remains the single most effective cost- and time-saving measure. Delaying construction to secure sufficient funds and get the fundamentals right, even by a year or more, will improve project viability, and result in a shorter, more predictable programme and a lower final cost. This approach will also optimise sustainability, operational efficiency and long-term asset value.
Successful completion
In my travels across Africa, I have seen numerous half-finished buildings and abandoned construction sites where developers have run out of money. Our cost leadership made sure this was never going to happen with the new Protea Hotel by Marriott in Lilongwe, which will soon welcome its first guests.
The project’s imminent completion demonstrates RLB’s capability to deliver world-class projects in Africa’s diverse and developing markets. We understand the realities of building in Africa. With our experience of navigating challenging and often unpredictable local conditions, we know what works and what doesn’t. We can provide cost certainty in uncertain environments.
One of our key strengths is our authenticity. We give real-world advice, even when it’s uncomfortable or when it means a project may not proceed in its current form. Our role isn’t to make numbers fit a dream, it’s to make sure dreams are grounded in reality, and based on data and experience, because that’s what ultimately delivers enduring project success.
We passionately believe it is our responsibility to tell the truth, to earn and keep our clients’ trust, to work together with all stakeholders, and to plan for tomorrow with foresight and integrity.
These are not slogans; they are the values that define how RLB continues to help build a better and brighter future for Africa, project by project.
Images: Courtesy of Boogertman + Partners (Pty) Ltd
About the author
Christiaan Rademan
Christiaan Rademan is a Director and Shareholder at RLB in Africa. He joined the firm in 2014 and has over 17 years’ experience in quantity surveying and development advisory, working extensively across the African continent.
He has been directly involved in projects across multiple African markets, advising on a wide range of hospitality, leisure, commercial, retail, residential, industrial, infrastructure and data centre developments, often in complex delivery environments requiring strong commercial judgement and practical insight.
He is registered as a Professional Quantity Surveyor with the South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession and as a Professional Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and is a member of the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors.
Share this on social media:
RLB © 2026 Rider Levett Bucknall.