Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
THE OPERATORS of the Bahia Principe hotel under construction at Pear Tree Bottom in Runaway Bay, St. Ann, will be going to the Supreme Court today in an effort to have an order from Mr. Justice Bryan Sykes set aside.
Last week, the judge quashed the environmental permit for the hotel which would, in effect, halt the construction of the facility. However, the judge granted a 21-day stay of his order.
Mr. Justice Sykes will be hearing the application and attorney-at-law Sandra Minott Phillips who is representing the hotel will be arguing that the Piñero Group, owners of the hotel, was not served with a copy of the claim form when the application was filed in the Supreme Court and that was a breach of the court rules.
The group is seeking to have the ruling set aside or varied to the extent where it can continue construction of the hotel. The group claims that the building is 85 per cent complete and it has so far spent US$60 million (J$3.9 billion) on construction.
EIA TO JOIN HEARING
The consultants for the environmental impact assess-ment which Justice Sykes described as deficient in many areas are likely to join in the hearing today. Mr. Justice Sykes in quashing the permit held that the Natural Resources Conser-vation Authority (NRCA) and its successor, the National Environ-ment and Planning Agency, had failed in their statutory duty to consult according to law.
The judge said he found that NRCA failed to consult with the relevant government depart-ments and agencies and also failed to circulate the marine ecology report to members of the public.
Several applicants led by Northern Jamaica Conservation Association and the Jamaica Environment Trust had brought the claim against the NRCA.
