Jamaica PM says Harmony Cove casino will turn into growth driver

The property will be developed and rolled out in several phases. Construction on Phase 1 is scheduled to begin in 2017. This initial phase of the project will include 1,000 hotel rooms, retail space, and food and beverage options, and the approximate amount of $1 billion is expected to be spent on it. The casino facility will be launched with Phase 2 of the resort.

Overall, the whole Harmony Cove development will offer 5,000 rooms, a casino floor, food and beverage options, golf courses, marina amenities, and numerous entertainment-focused facilities, when fully built. The resort will be owned by the Development Bank of Jamaica and the National Housing Trust and will be managed by Harmonisation Ltd. on their behalf.

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Local media reported that Prime Minister Holness addressed the Development Bank’s Strategic Planning Retreat for Boards of Directors on Friday, saying that the complex will certainly turn into a major economic growth driverand will boost Jamaica’s reputation as an attractive tourist destination

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The top official also pointed out that the Development Bank should take the project very seriously, that decisions need to be made in due time and manner, and that they should move ahead with the development. As previously reported, developers had decided to break ground on the resort some time in the second quarter of 2017, despite the originally projected 2016 construction commencement date.

Last year, the Jamaican government approved provisionally the construction of two integrated casino resorts with Harmony Cove being one of them, and Celebration Jamaica being the other.

Both resorts will have to meet certain requirements in order to be granted casino licenses. Developers will have to make sure that both properties will feature no less than 2,000 hotel rooms each, with 1,000 of these being launched with Phase 1 of the projects.

The Harmony Cove plan was first announced back in 2004. It then took 2 years for the proect to be reviewed by the government. It was eventually signed in 2006 by Portia Simpson-Miller, the Jamaican Prime Minister at that time. However, developer’s inability to secure funding stalled construction for more than a decade.