Initial construction work on the highly anticipated Hyatt Hotel in Bridgetown is “likely” to start in May, a year after it was originally supposed to open.
In addition, authorities are hoping that a number of private sector projects will pick up pace in coming months, and the agriculture sector would get renewed life.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley made the announcement on Tuesday as she outlined a number of projects she was hoping to get started or fast-tracked so that the economy would not experience any major fallout from unemployment as a result of the threatening COVID-19.
Plans for the proposed Hyatt which had an original start date of 2016 to open in 2019 under the brand Hyatt Centric, had since been changed to have more rooms and condominiums and it will now carry the brand name Hyatt Ziva.
Mottley said following meetings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the next two weeks, she was hoping to get a “relaxation” on the targets under the four-year Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation programme, and a stand-by “precautionary” financing facility.
This, she said, would allow her 22-month-old administration to “move quicker” on other capital projects that would have otherwise not been accommodated, including road works.
“These are things we wanted to do long time but we could only inch [along] because of the fiscal space that we have. Hopefully, this will give us an opportunity now to do other things,” said Mottley.
“The Hyatt is likely to start within this period. In fact, the earth works should start within the next two months or so including the destruction of the building,” Mottley announced.
The controversial Hyatt project, which will be carried out at a cost of over $200 million, had been on hold for several years after the developers came up against strong objections.
Last November Government acquired the Liquidation Centre and another nearby building in an effort to accommodate the tweaked project.
In addition to the Hyatt, Mottley said there were several others, some of which have already started.
She singled out the planned refurbishment of the golf course and building of new villas at Apes Hill Polo Club, and the old Caribee Hotel, which is to be taken over by an Indigo hotel brand, saying the town planning process was completed and they are “almost ready” to start.
She also reported that permission had been granted for the construction of the planned Royalton Sunwing hotel brand on the site of the old Discovery Bay Hotel, adding that “they are hoping to start by June”.
Mottley said the Crane Hotel in St Philip had already started its upgrade with another 50 rooms, and the Wyndham Grand Sam Lord’s Castle project in the same parish, had two-thirds more of the building to be completed.
In addition, Sandals Barbados was adding another 66 rooms that should be completed by November this year, and the Sagicor’s senior living community The Estates at St George, should see increased construction activities in late April.
At the same time, Mottley announced that Government’s housing programme was “likely” to get off the ground fully in the next three months.
She said Government had identified an initial 1,580 house lots and there will be another 200 acres from “planning gains”.
Stating that the land space for housing did not cost Government, Mottley said the intention was to “cap the land prices” particularly for those who are earning $4,000 or less in the public and private sector.
“We are now working with the banks and financial institutions for the kinds of mortgages,” said Mottley.
“We have a significant amount of projects to keep economic activity in this country going,” she said.
Mottley said she was not only relying on the construction sector for that economic activity, citing the agriculture sector as another area where projects have been identified,
“To that extent we have focused on six-week crops, 12-week crops and six-month crops. But we are conscious that we have a duty, particularly if ships are not moving. So we have to be ready for all eventualities and to that extent, particularly with us going into the hurricane season in June, we need to do a number of things,” she said.
Mottley said the Ministry of Agriculture had identified opportunities for expanded production, first with 750 acres that can be brought into production, while pointing out that chicken production would also be ramped up.
There will also be expanded production at the prison facility and the Barbados Defence Force.
“I hope this will be a pattern that will be sustained and not used just simply for this period that we are undergoing as a very challenging period,” the Prime Minister said.
“In addition to that there are one or two areas of domestic manufacturing that we will be focusing on,” added Mottley, who opted not to give details, but indicated that Government would be meeting with industry officials in that regard in “coming weeks”.
