Harmony Cove Project Alive – Industry Minister

 The Harmony Cove project in Trelawny, conceptualised more than 10 years ago for the development of some 2,300 acres of mostly beach front property is alive, and details of the impending development activities will soon be made public. 

This was disclosed to JIS News by Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, following his presentation at a ‘Meet the Ministers Forum’, held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, on March 22.

The development was set to include 4,500 hotel rooms, 500 residential units, nightclubs, golf courses, a marina and other entertainment facilities.

Construction was expected to begin with 2,000 hotel rooms a couple years ago, and Jamaica's passage of legislation to legitimise casino gaming and the facilitation of hotel-based casinos would have benefited the development.

Initially, the Harmony Cove build-out should have begun in 2009, but was hit by the 2008 global financial meltdown, which in large measure handicapped access to investment capital and blunted investor confidence.

Industry sources expect that a Harmony Cove-type development will give momentum to other major investments in Jamaica’s tourist industry, with considerable spinoffs for other sectors, such as construction, agriculture, other service industries and in general, the generation of hundreds of jobs.

By Allan Brooks, JIS Senior Reporter