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Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves (File photo: Discover SVG/Facebook)
Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves (File photo: Discover SVG/Facebook)
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The Bank of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (BoSVG) plan to builds a financial services centre on two acres of land at Peters Hope.

“There is going to be a Bank of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, there is going to be an NIS office, there is going to be an ATM, there are going to be facilities for other banking business and very importantly, there is also going to be a police station at that location,” Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves said on Tuesday.

He announced at a ceremony to mark the signing of an agreement between the government and Marriott that a state-owned hotel is to be built at Mt Wynne, that the government will give the land and the BoSVG will build the facility.

Gonsalves said the building of the hotel marks the official start of a renaissance in the Central Leeward area.

“This area on which you are standing is on the verge of becoming a central hub for economic growth and development in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” he said.

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“Not only will it become a major hip strip in hospitality with hotels and ancillary services but it is growing as well as a residential centre with many exciting developments on tap in the short term.”

The minister said that the National Insurances Services, and GECCU, a credit union, have embarked on a plan to provide 201 lots for residential development on 57 acres of land at Peters Hope.

The project began conceptually in 2015 with construction of an access road and accelerated with the commencement of consultancies to design the road and drainage network across the property.

The two companies have spent over EC$2 million on the plan, he said.

In August, they accepted the preliminary design report, which incorporated the design option for the Peters Hope road and drainage network, the cost of which is EC$12.5 million and will be executed January 2020 through August 2021.

Gonsalves spoke of Black Sands Resort, which is employing 135 persons in construction.

At the ground-breaking ceremony for the resort in February 2017, the investor said that construction should be completed in 24 to 30 months.

However, from all indications, the resort is far from completion.

Gonsalves said that a natural corollary of the developments taking place in the Mt Wynne-Peters Hope area is that the two nearest towns will need a facelift.

“Because the tourist who drives from Argyle International Airport to here is likely not going to drive back along that road until he or she is leaving to fly back to their destination. But they will, many of them, would want to exploit a little bit of the local scenery and the local culture.”

He noted that Layou and Barrouallie are the nearest towns and the government has committed in this budget to do the consultancy services for the beautification and the improvement of amenities in Layou and Barrouallie to make sure that by the time the hotel is completed, “when they drive through Layou, they are going to say, what a beautiful town, I have to make sure to come back and visit this town when I come to the hotel.”

Gonsalves said that the residents of Layou and Barrouallie will be “equipped to monetise the presence of all of these hundreds and thousands of new tourists in their midst”.

5 replies on “Bank to build financial services centre at Peters Hope”

  1. Minister Gonsalves, are we seeing the advent of yet another CLICO, BAICO fiasco?
    When the insurances companies started operating like a financial institution and accepting deposits, where was the Minister of Finance? Where was The ECCB? Was Sir Dwight Venner eating from the dining table that the the Prime Minister gave to him? Where was the Insurance regulator? Where was FSA?

    How many blows can one financial institution take?

    I am asking now; where is the ECCB in this bid for the bank to be continuously used as a piggy bank for this unscrupulous bunch of politicians!!!! A bank cannot be a real estate agent/ contractor. A bank needs to be liquid to avoid any signs of liquidity issues.

    My suggestion is let a private person build the facility and rent the spaces . That’s a way of generating economic growth. How can Vincentians benefit if a bank build a financial services centre??

    But these politicians know what to say to their ‘audience.’ Just tell them what they want to hear and they will regurgitate for you.

  2. If one has to stop and throw stone at every dog that barks. One will never get to his destination or accomplish his plans.

  3. Did you write “beautification of the capital city”JAM57? That will not happen dear, for the very reason that the foreigners, whom we constantly beg for our up keep as a strategy, in place of good economic policies, may never give us any more money.

    Take heart, the family knows what they are doing for us ignorant and dumb pups! So just swallow your pride dear! Your betters knows what is best!

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