Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley, receiving an update of the project from Director of Strategic Projects, Sagicor Life Inc., Edward Clarke (third from right). They were joined on tour by (from left) Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn; Director of Sagicor Financial, Dr. Jeannine Comma; Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment, Marsha Caddle; and Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Cynthia Forde. (B. Hinds/BGIS)

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has commended Sagicor and The Estates of St. George project as an example of hunkering down and rebuilding during a period of downturn in anticipation of the upturn to come.

Ms. Mottley said the project was a “true statement” of confidence not only in the Government, but in the nation of Barbados, and it brought quiet satisfaction in a world filled with despair.

During a ceremony following a tour of the construction site yesterday, the Prime Minister stated: “It gives us quiet satisfaction because the world in which we live today is turbulent in every respect…. Currently, all of the North Atlantic countries are confronting this second wave of COVID-19 that even without us doing anything has the capacity to offset economies in this part of the world,” Ms. Mottley observed.

She continued: “Yet with all of that, our small rock has made it our business to continue pressing ahead not necessarily full steam ahead, but pressing ahead conscious that were we not to use this time effectively when we come out of it, we would now have to go and do what we are doing now, which would be a disruptor in the provision of services and goods because we would now be looking to build out a year or two from now, rather than using this time to our advantage to build out as much as we can.”

In this vein, the Prime Minister promised to partner with the private sector in any area where the venture could deliver goods and services that were “hitherto not available, or must depend on the physical space available to the Government”.

Meanwhile, Director of Strategic Projects at Sagicor Life Inc, Edward Clarke, said the project, which sits on 32 acres of land, represented an investment of $206 million.  

It includes 10 residential buildings, an assisted living and skilled nursing home, a clubhouse, and a commercial centre. A total of 350 people will be employed on the site.

julie.carrington@barbados.gov.bb

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