BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AS of January 2017, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis will be taking over the management of the Taiwanese Eco-Park in St. Paul, which is a boost in the Administration’s thrust to further enhance the Federation’s agro-tourism product.
This disclosure came yesterday (Sept. 21) at the launch of the Sugar Festival and Exhibition for the Federation’s history in the area of sugar cane cultivation and life on the plantation.
According to the Minister of Tourism, Hon. Lindsay Grant, this move would assist the tourism sector in the continuation of its drive to enhance the local product on offer.
Speaking with SKNVibes shortly after the launch, Grant explained that the partnership between the Ministries of Agriculture and Tourism is one of “public-public partnership”, noting that it would be a joint operation between the two government agencies when the park is officially handed over.
“We are now formulating the kind of operational structure on how it would function, how it would be funded and operated, because come January 2017 we are going to be fully responsible for the eco-park,” explained Grant.
The park, which was opened in 2014, is said to be a joint project between the people and Government of St. Kitts and Nevis and the people and Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan.
According to the details obtained by SKNVibes, construction work on the park took just over three years.
Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. Eugene Hamilton told the audience that even before the 31 years of friendship between the Republic of China on Taiwan and St. Kitts and Nevis, the partnership started on the said ground where the park is situated.
Meanwhile, Grant is looking ahead to the Government formally managing the operations of the park and plans are already afoot for it to generate income.
“As we can see, it is a wonderful edifies with a lot of opportunities for local craftsmen and women, but we would need to find an opportunity for them by drawing traffic and people here to the venue to be able to generate some income.”
He pointed out that this would be used as another piece of marketable products by the Tourism Ministry when promoting St. Kitts and Nevis on the international stage.
