The new hotel under construction at the Sam Lord’s Castle property in St. Philip, is set to be completed by the end of this year.
That’s according to the Leader of the Senate, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Dr. Jerome Walcott. He told those in the Senate Chamber yesterday that construction has been completed on 308 of the 450-room Wyndham Grand Hotel. He went on to say that the multimillion dollar project is being financed through a loan from Exim Bank of China, to the tune of US $170 million.
He addressed this as he led off the debate on the 2021 Appropriation Bill. Minister Walcott, offering more details on the project, indicated that when that hotel is completed, it is expected to employ 1 000 persons. He added that consistent with government’s policy, the project will be sold to the private sector, stating “we don’t believe that we should be running hotels”.
Walcott went on to speak about a number of other tourism related projects, which Government is looking forward to seeing come to fruition.
Referring to the Hyatt Ziva, which is to be built on Lower Bay Street, the Leader of the Senate said while that project was put on hold because of COVID, it is now expected to start later this year. He indicated that property is intended to be a 370-room hotel, with 26 residences, adding that all planning permissions have been received except for over-the-water villas.
He added that another hotel is coming not too far from that site. Walcott told fellow senators that the seven-acre property owned by Massy Pierhead is being acquired by an investor, who has plans to build a 250-bed hotel. He stated that the property is also expected to feature condos and retail space.
“The investor is not interested in a high rise or in dense development, but in a beautiful family type hotel with adequate green and blue spaces, and again this is now expected to commence this year, with an estimated budget of US$120 million,” he stated.
Minister Walcott went on to say that plans to develop the Bridge House at the Pierhead property into a hotel have been abandoned in favour of an entertainment and retail space. However, he said the upper floors of the property are likely to be condos. He said the investors are also looking to start this year.
Meanwhile, Minister Walcott indicated the Carlisle House property is to be developed by a Jamaica investor, who is working with JADA. He stated that they are seeking to acquire more land to make the project scalable.
Speaking also to work being done by the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc., he said the Speightstown flood mitigation project, which started last December, was paused for a month because of the shutdown, and is expected to be completed by February 2022. He added that phase three of the Constitution River Flood Mitigation Project recommenced on March 1 after the national pause, and if all goes well, is slated to be completed next March.
Walcott also spoke to the plans for the Golden Square Freedom Park, indicating that it is expected to be completed by the second quarter of the upcoming financial year. He disclosed that it is estimated to cost $8 million.