PM Welcomes Multi-Million-Dollar Cricket Accommodation Investments
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PM Welcomes Multi-Million-Dollar Cricket Accommodation Investments |
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19 projects get incentives to construct 1,117 rooms for CWC 2007 Contact: Prime Minister's Press Secretary Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - Local investors have shown astonishing interest in providing the needed extra accommodation for Cricket World Cup and have been making full use of incentives offered by government to build new hotels, condominiums, villas, apartments and town houses for the great event in 2007. In his last budget address, Prime Minister Dr Kenny D. Anthony outlined the main features of incentives granted under the Tourism Accommodations Incentive Act to encourage construction of the extra hotel rooms that will be needed to house visitors for the international event. He pointed out that the incentives would range from accommodations in the form of hotels and condominiums to apartments and individuals upgrading or renovating homes to provide bed-and-breakfast facilities. To date, 19 locally-based investors have been given incentives worth almost one billion EC dollars to construct entities to provide accommodation. According to the latest figures, the incentives for the 19 projects submitted amount to $994.18 million and when completed they will provide 1,117 rooms. Of the 19 investments that have sought and received incentives, four have already started construction, while approval from the Development Control Authority (DCA) is being awaited for the other 15 to get off the ground. Among the projects already completed or under way are: the $5 million Tropical Homes at Cap Estate being undertaken by local developer Bernard Johnson; the $100 million Lazy Lagoon Hotel at Choc Bay (which is a refurbishment of the old St. James/Wyndham/Morgan Bay hotel under new ownership) with 100 additional rooms; and the 111-room $44 million Coco Resorts at Rodney Bay, which has already opened. Among the major projects soon to get under way are: the $320 million Landings at Rodney Bay which will provide just over 500 rooms; a $118 million project to be undertaken by the Cap Estate Group of Companies to construct villas and town houses with 80 rooms; and the $29 million Cap Maison at Cap Estate which will provide 17 apartments with 50 rooms. Three developments are also carded for the immediate Beausejour area, including the $11 million Chateau Village that will provide villas with 60 rooms, Desmond Fostin’s $3 million Bel View Resorts that will build condominiums with 15 rooms and Stephen’s Apartments that will provide another six rooms. But the investments that have attracted incentives are not only centred in the island’s north. There are also developments beyond the Castries basin, including an $18 million project to be undertaken by Architectique Architects in Anse La Raye to construct condominiums with 60 rooms; as well as a $4.5 million project at Marigot Bay, already being undertaken by local attorney Richard Frederick, which will see the construction of five villas with 17 rooms. The Prime Minister says that “while the various investments are at different stages of development and although the Government has no way of guaranteeing that all the approved rooms will be constructed,” the number of applications for incentives received so far “reflects an astonishing level of interest in hotel accommodation for Cricket World Cup.” He has also expressed the hope that “with the increasing interest in Cricket World Cup that was manifested in the large attendance at last Saturday’s World Cup Road Show here, more investors will be encouraged to make use of the incentives being offered by the government.” |
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