Businessman Chris Blackwell is going ahead with a planned multibillion-dollar development at his Goldeneye resort, despite the worldwide economic recession.

Blackwell has broken ground for a US$50 million (J$4.4 billion) expansion of the resort, which is located in Oracabessa, St Mary.

The ambitious venture, being financed by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), was officially launched on Friday by Prime Minister Bruce Golding and the Island Outpost family in the parish once known for its dominance in the banana industry.

The project is being done in phases, with the first phase scheduled to be completed in the final quarter of 2010.

"Once that is up and running, by 2012 or 2013, we will rebuild everything else," Blackwell told The Sunday Gleaner.

Blackwell and his team had already sold well over 50 per cent of the one- and two-bedroom cottages at prices ranging from US$900,000-$1.2 million.

The property will be operated under a revenue-sharing arrangement through the Island Outpost brand.

"Now is not the season when people are launching new ventures, it's not a time when people are putting out to sea, because the sea is rough," stated Golding as he lauded the man he commended for "blazing so many trails, ploughing so many fields, and going where others would never even think of going".

The development is the only new hotel investment announced on the island since the global recession. It will complement existing projects, The Palmyra Resort and Spa and AMResorts - Secrets in the tourism capital, Montego Bay.

According to Golding, the project, which will include 11 beachfront cottages and a beachfront restaurant, will position the island for great impact and growth once the global recession passes.

pm impressed

Impressed with the concept for the resort, the prime minister said Goldeneye was consistent with the direction his government was taking in the development of the offerings of the island's tourist industry.

"I have said for some time we mustn't be the typical investor, because you get to the point where you have saturated the market."

Golding said it was pivotal to offer new adventures and new experiences.

In line with the prime minister's observations, Blackwell, whose early adventures in music pioneered Jamaica's musical identity on the world stage, told The Sunday Gleaner that his 20-year-old dream was on the road to becoming a reality.

The 11 cottages will form a village on Low Cay Beach, a 500-ft sandy crescent that is sheltered by a coral reef, and will be designed by award-winning architect Anne Hodges, who is reintroducing the classic Caribbean cottage, complete with contemporary comforts.

Blackwell is convinced that the expansion will make a big difference in St Mary, because of the 143 people who will be permanently employed on completion of the project and the approximately 200 during construction.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com