DyerMonique Hepburn, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE PLANNED construction of a new 350-room luxury hotel in Rose Hall, Montego Bay, St. James, is sparking much excitement in the tourist capital as the increase in the number of hotel rooms, which will move the current figure from 5,850 to 6,200, is expected to bring significant economic benefits.
"This is extremely good news for Montego Bay because it falls squarely in our economic plans for the city," said businessman Godfrey Dyer, the president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association (JHTA). "Our plan is to have the economy of Montego Bay grow by five per cent annually so we naturally welcome all new developments."
The construction plans got off to a flying start earlier this week when Winston Dear, the president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who announced the project last week, told The Gleaner that the St. James Parish Council had approved the building plans in a mere one week, a record for a process often considered time-consuming and laborious.
"The approval of the plan in just one week goes to show that everyone associated with the approval of the project is co-operating for the development of Montego Bay," said Mr. Dear. "This project is geared towards generating solid growth in tourism, which will significantly underpin the growth that is expected to continue in the economy."
DEEPLY COMMITTED TO CITY'S DEVELOPMENT
In acknowledging the praises directed at the St. James Parish Council for its speedy passage of the building plan, Montego Bay's mayor, Councillor Noel Donald-son, said the council is deeply committed to the development of the city. Declaring that the council's staff shares the same measure of commitment, he said it not surprising to him that they rose to the challenge and passed the hotel plan in record time.
"The creation of employment opportunities is critical to the development of Montego Bay," said Mayor Donaldson, in expressing his personal pleasure with the planned project. "Because of the benefits it will bring, we saw it as being vital to ensure that the plans were processed and approved in a timely and efficient manner."
While efforts to get a statement from the developers, Rose Hall Development Limited, on the overall cost of the project, was unsuccessful, Mr. Dear pointed out that the new rooms will increase the developers room count in the Rose Hall area to over 1,000. According to him, the new hotel forms part of a larger project that will see the company constructing more hotels.
"It is a fantastic development and we are quite happy about it," said Mr. Dear, in noting that everyone associated with the project is cooperating for the development of Montego Bay. "This is extremely good news for Montego Bay and we are quite pleased about it."
Rose Hall Development Limited is own by the family of the late business mogul John Rollins, who was primarily responsible for the original boom in hotel construction in the Rose Hall area of the western city.
