Govt stays firm

Minister of Tourism Kerrie Symmonds yesterday restated Government’s position on further concessions for Sandals saying it is standing firm.

He was commenting on the delayed start of the $840 million project that would see the Sandals Beaches project at Heywoods, St Peter, finally get under way.

Symmonds said Government continued to engage possible partners for multimillion-dollar hotel projects, but if need be, could let the Sandals project fall by the wayside.

“There has to be a sense of fairness, and we’ve made our position very clear, and it is for the proposed developer, who has already spent considerable money on the beach area, to make a determination as to what the next step will be.

“Barbados cannot afford to have one brand of hotel accommodation which has virtually everything scot-free, and then all other brands, including those which are home-grown, suffer almost as if they were walking on a bed of nails by comparison,” the minister said when asked to provide an update on the project.

 (BA)

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