Contracts awarded for two major hotels in SVG – Gonsalves

Contracts have already been awarded for at least two major hotel development projects in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

And more deals are already in train as the government moves to ensure that the room stock on the mainland increases consistently over the next three years.

From left: Dr. Rudy Matthias, Project Manager of the Marriott Mt Wynne Resort Project; Hector Oliva, Marriott Vice President of Design and Project Management for Latin America and the Caribbean; Camillo Gonsalves, Minister of Finance; Enrique Norten, founder and Director of TEN Arquitectos

Finance minister, Camillo Gonsalves revealed on radio recently that the contract for the Sandals Beaches Resort in Buccament has already been awarded.

“There are people on site also doing demolition right now, some river defence work and I’m informed that this week, the entire leadership of the winning contractor- the winning contractor is out of the Dominican Republic,” Gonsalves said on the ‘Issue at Hand’ programme last Sunday.

“They are coming here and setting up shop; about 50 engineers and leadership type people. They have already rented houses and stuff that they’re gonna be living here.”

He added that construction is likely to begin within the first two weeks of April, which will kick-start the company’s 18-month timeline.

Given the set timeline for completion, hoteliers anticipate that they will be able to welcome guests to the new Beaches Resort by the end of 2023.

The finance minister also noted that the contract for the Holiday Inn Express, which is earmarked for Diamond has also been awarded.

This contract was won by the same contractors currently completing the Coreas warehouse in the same location.

“They are the ones who won the contract to build the Holiday Inn Express which is very good because they don’t have to mobilise much. Most of what they need is already on site. They just have to cross the road really, so that’s very, very good for us and that saves us some money in mobilisation,” Gonsalves said.

He disclosed as well that the company was in the process of completing a value engineering exercise, as costs have increased in recent times.

The minister said that work should commence by the end of this month.

Contractors have also set an 18-month timeline for the completion of this project.

Other major hotel projects include the construction of the Marriott in the Mount Wynne/Peters Hope area and Royal Mills in Ratho Mill.

Gonsalves revealed that the vice president of Marriott Hotels with responsibility for Latin America and the Caribbean Hotels recently visited SVG, along with the architecture firm contracted to design the hotel, and a number of quantity surveyors.

Value engineering was also a part of this exercise, which sought to estimate the cost of the facility and measures that can be taken to cut increasing costs.

“Sometimes there are some bathroom elements you can prefabricate overseas and bring here and install. You can save a couple dollars there.

There are some new technologies, new types of concrete that can be used which are a little bit lighter, a little less expensive and so on, so they were suggesting ways you can cut a million here, cut a 500,000 there and that project, that exercise is ongoing but the architect says that the changes related to this value engineering process will take another month and a half to work into the designs and then we will go out to tender right after that,” the finance minister explained.

He added however, that by August, Vincentians are likely to see the construction of various elements including internal roads, back walls, parking lots and trenches for sewerage and irrigation.

A 24 to 28-month timeline has been set for the completion of the Marriott, cementing the hopes of welcoming guests by 2025.

The construction of the Royal Mills hotel in Ratho Mill was stalled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Gonsalves assured that leadership will visit the country soon to ramp up hiring and construction at the site.

Updated timelines for this project are pending.

“There are a couple hotel projects that are yet to be announced but those are mainly in the Grenadines. I’ll let either the Prime Minister or Carlos James (tourism minister) take the credit for those when the time comes; but very, very exciting time for hotel development,” the finance minister added.

“We think that in 2024, by the time we’re out of 2024, we will have added over 700 hotel rooms to our room stock on mainland St Vincent and by the time we get to 2025, that number will be approaching 1000.”