Prime Minister David Thompson??(FP)??
The Palm Beach condominiums located at Hastings, Christ Church, have brought an initial investment of Bds $100 million and are likely to "generate and circulate considerably more through the sale of the units".
Prime Minister David Thompson made this disclosure last Friday, as he delivered the feature address at the official opening of the condominiums.
Noting that the 59 units, which occupy only four acres were a "vast improvement" on what had previously occupied the site, Mr. Thompson said that the venture constituted "a significant stimulus package within the construction industry and the real estate sector".??????
He added that because Realtors Ltd was a Barbadian company, the Government and people stood to benefit from the inflow of foreign exchange, as well as revenue from transfer taxes and stamp duties.
"It is through projects like this that Barbados is benefitting from the significant injection of capital now to help it ride out the recession, as well as a constant flow of foreign exchange from the short-term letting of these units," the Prime Minister opined.
He acknowledged that the biggest challenge faced in Barbados was the use of scarce resources, including land. "We have to reconcile the conflicting demands for space from housing, from commerce, from agriculture and from tourism.
"The overall aim is to do so in a manner that is environmentally sound and economically resilient in order to attain sustainable development," Mr. Thompson observed.
He therefore gave the assurance that the Palm Beach condominiums, and every other development that took place under his watch, would be "carefully scrutinised so as to prevent any disruption in the agreed and established equilibrium in the use of land in Barbados".
This commitment, the Prime Minister said, underpinned the vision of a nation in which economic and physical growth were balanced with the conservation and enhancement of rural landscapes, as well as cultural and natural heritage.
"Let me therefore stress that this project has undergone the necessary scrutiny and fully complies with the requirements of the planning process," Mr. Thompson reiterated.
He commended the project’s developers for the benefits it would offer to the country, such as reducing the pressure on water and other resources by sharing facilities such as swimming pools; diversifying the tourism product on the south coast; and redeveloping and modernising an older beach front property.