While providing an update on various hotel projects here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves made mention of a visit by officials from Marriott hotels to the country.
The Finance Minister while speaking on the Issues at Hand program said that their visit had to do with the rise in prices associated with the construction of the hotel.
“Everything has gone up about twenty percent, at least, so they were here as well to make some suggestions about what could be done to being costs down” he said.
The Finance Minister made mention of some of the ways costs could possibly be brought down.
“There are some bathroom elements that you can pre fabricate overseas and bring here and install, you can save a couple dollars there. There are some new technologies, new types of concrete that can be used which is a little bit lighter, little bit less expensive. So they were suggesting ways you can, you know, cut a million here, cut a five hundred thousand dollars there” he said.
Minister Gonsalves then focused his discussion more on the actual work on the ground in relation to the construction of the Marriott Hotel.
“Around August you will see the construction of the internal roads, the back walls, the parking lots; they started to dig the trenches for the sewage and irrigation and those sorts of things; and then before this year is out you’ll see foundations coming up out of the ground for the Marriott and that is looking like maybe a 24 month build—24/28 month build” Gonsalves said.
The Finance Minister says that if construction commences by the end of this year, the Marriott hotel will be functioning and welcoming guests by 2025.
The Marriot hotel was announced in 2019 and will have 250 rooms upon completion.
