BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PRIME Minister and Minister of Tourism Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas has attempted to clear the air surrounding the La Valle Development Project, giving the public an update on the status of a project which has so far used up in excess of US$ 22 million.
La Valle Development Project, situated at the western border of Sandy Point, was one of the developments that the government initiated in anticipation of the closure of the sugar industry in 2005. The plan of the project envisaged a marina, a first-class golf course and hotel and a number of villas and residential complexes and a plant nursery covering about 300 acres or 13,068,000 square feet of former sugarcane lands.
The development project had come under public scrutiny particularly over the last two years when there had been much controversy relating to the financing of the project which had reportedly caused a lengthy stall. There has been mention of various investors being interested in continuing the project, the details of which however, were sketchy at best.
During his most recent press conference, Dr. Douglas informed that his government began construction of the golf course and completed nine holes, constructed a desalination plant and installed a two megawatt generator on-site, however miles of 10-foot sheets of galvanized fencing prevents the public from seeing said progress.
“The project initially had utilized the funds that were first identified for the first part of the development. We have secured a loan for the second part. But the development did not persist because there was a decision to sell the project in its entirety and since then, we have been trying to find a buyer for the project.
“We have a number of buyers I must tell you, none of whom checked out in the way the government wished for those to buyers to check out,” Douglas said.
As early as 2005, a European-Caribbean consortium of eight private investors held discussions with the Government and expressed interest in constructing hotels and villas around the proposed 18-hole golf course. One of the companies showing major interest was Monplaisir Group which operates the Club Med in Martinique.
In late January of this year, SKNVibes reported that PM Douglas began discussions with Sir Charles Williams and Gerald Barton, representatives for a similar development project called Apes Hill Club based in Barbados, as they showed interest in developing the site. Both Williams and Barton are internationally recognized for their signature world-class resorts and golf courses, and had plans of converting the sugar lands at La Valle into a high-end tourist attraction.
However, PM Douglas has reassured that his government, through the La Valle Greens Company, is in discussions with the former and current developers along with unidentified financiers out of Trinidad and Tobago in “moving the progress forward under the support of the new developers”.
La Valle Greens Limited is a Government owned entity established for that particular project.
Douglas informed that the St. Kitts Investment Promotion Agency (SKIPA) is involved in bringing the new development together adding that more information will be forthcoming as the project reaches a more advanced stage. SKIPA now joins the Frigate Bay Corporation and Whitegate Development Corporation as the list of government agencies involved with the La Valle project.
In September of 2006, it was reported by the Communications Unit of the Office of the Prime Minister that Phase II of the La Valle Development Project had begun in August of that same year and that 75% of Phase I had been completed. It was also reported that “40 full time persons have been employed with several women, who previously worked in the closed sugar industry finding employment… maintaining the golf course and nursery”.
