Businessman from Trinidad willing to invest in new city

Trinidadian businessman Derek Chin’s dream of providing quality entertainment is set to hit the shores of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Last Friday, Chin, the owner of the popular franchise MovieTowne, held discussions with Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves and executive director (ED) of Invest SVG Bernadette Ambrose-Black at Cabinet Room. {{more}}Minister of Economic Planning, Sustainable Development, Industry, Trade, Information and Labour Camillo Gonsalves also sat in on the meeting.

Chin, making his third visit here, is looking at investing in the proposed new city at Arnos Vale and is ready to move forward with his plans of constructing a modern entertainment facility that will encompass a movie theatre, conference centre, fiesta plaza and possibly a boutique hotel and carousel park.

“We are in a position that things can move forward. We came today to get an understanding about the way forward”, said Chin, who stressed that a number of technical things must be done before actual construction begins.

“We were here last year and we had architects and planners on board, so when I go back to Trinidad, we are going to move forward with the process”, explained Chin, who put the time frame at three to four months before everything is finalized.

“I would say that by the end of the year we would start to talk about contractors and breaking ground,” said Chin, who added that this will be their first move into the Eastern Caribbean, as they have already made a huge investment in Guyana, valued at $40 million.

“St Vincent and the Grenadines was not high on MovieTowne’s agenda, but given the kind of relationship we have developed with the Prime Minister and his team, we feel that we can take a look at it and make it worth our while. We don’t want to look at it as one thing, we want to use it as breaking the ground, breaking the ice, in terms of your development in tourism and things like that,” said Chin, who is looking to develop about 20 acres of land in Arnos Vale in the area of the ET Joshua Airport.

The entrepreneur noted also that other investors are willing to make an input into the project, which can cost anywhere around US$10 million for the cinema alone.

“We want to create an experience that does not already exist here”, said Chin, adding that his architects have already looked at the space available and have an idea of what they want to do. He said that Massy is also interested in being part of the project.

Commenting, Prime Minister Dr Gonsalves said that he is welcoming the investment, as it will create employment and other opportunities for Vincentians.

He noted that with a rising number of medical students from all over the world and an increase of tourists, an establishment like MovieTowne will be ideal to provide entertainment of a high quality.

The PM said that with the opening of the Argyle International Airport in the next few months, ET Joshua will become decommissioned and the process of doing the overall development of Arnos Vale will begin.

“It is very good that persons like yourself (Chin) are in on the ground floor, because there are structures of different types that we can put there, telecommunications systems, drains and all the basic infrastructure”, said the PM, who stressed that the Govern-ment is looking to do a number of things in the area.

Also commenting, Ambrose-Black said that Invest SVG looks at the third visit of Chin as, “very positive,” while she noted that they are looking forward to the investment coming to fruition.

“As soon as ET Joshua has been decommissioned, we can start the ball rolling. In the interim, we would like to advance from the stage of a memorandum of understanding stage to a full-fledged agreement, so that start of the process can further advance”, said the ED, who noted that the project will have a positive impact on the socio economic growth here in terms of job creation.

“Foreign Direct Investment is a significant contributor to GDP. With restaurants and retail stores, the project will stimulate new jobs. These are interesting and exciting times for St Vincent and the Grenadines. From an investment standpoint, investments such as these would serve to have a positive impact on developmental growth, with the creation of employment for Vincentians, income generation, increased revenue, increased trade, and local and sustainable markets for our farmers, said Ambrose-Black.