The Antigua and Barbuda government has signed a memorandum of agreement for a new development project valued over US $200 million.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Antigua and Barbuda’s newly appointed ambassador to Cyprus, Dr Aly El Dakroury, representing SunnyHill Group Limited, signed the MOA that will result in the construction and development of over 400 units as a world-class hotel complex to be constructed in four phases.
"This project will create over 1,000 new jobs for Antiguans and Barbudans, with 500 in the construction sector and over 500 in operation and management positions. In addition, the principals of this project will also attract new investments for Antigua and Barbuda, further solidifying our determination to make Antigua and Barbuda an economic powerhouse," Browne said.
El Dakroury said that the signing of the MOA marks the beginning of a partnership that his company is determined to make long and prosperous for the people of Antigua and Barbuda and for the SunnyHill Group.
The SunnyHill Group is a newly formed domestic company founded by Caribbean Trust Immigration Services, a licensed and leading promoter of the citizenship by investment programme of Antigua and Barbuda based in Dubai, UAE, in a joint venture with Stuart Investment Management, a Canadian licensed Investment dealer.
With more than 20 years of experience in construction projects, Trust Arabia Contracting, an affiliate of Caribbean Trust Immigration Services, will oversee the realization of the project with the best local talents and expertise.
"We intend to develop and manage a world class, high quality hotel resort complex with an investment of over US$200 million dollars, to be invested in four phases of US$50 million dollars each. We are committed to realize the first phase of this project in under two years," El Dakroury announced.
Patrick Abikzer, president of Stuart Investment Management, who cosigned the MOA, said his company is inspired by the prime minister’s objective to transform Antigua and Barbuda into an economic powerhouse in the Caribbean.
"The SunnyHill Group is proud to participate in this great vision. It is our intention to contribute significantly over the next few years to the economic and social development of Antigua and Barbuda by investing in the tourism sector and attracting international high-net-worth individuals," Abikzer pointed out.
As part of the MOA, the SunnyHill Group will also establish the SunnyHill Antigua Development Fund to provide young people seeking employment and reintegration with scholarships to attend classes of vocational education and qualified technical training to enhance their profile skills in the tourism, information technology and communication sectors and to encourage entrepreneurship in the tourism, information technology, communication, agriculture and manufacturing sectors by investing in selected projects. The SunnyHill Antigua Development Fund will be capitalized at US$2 million per phase, for a total of US$8 million.
The project, which will be in the form of a joint venture, will utilize 100 acres of land in the Falmouth and Bethesda areas owned by C.O. Williams Property Development Company Limited.
The government of Antigua and Barbuda will provide the necessary incentives and concessions commensurate with a project of this magnitude.