Work Far Advanced on Falmouth Artisan Village

A total of $370 million has been spent, to date, on the establishment of the Falmouth Artisan Village in Trelawny.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, made the disclosure during the sitting of the Standing Finance Committee at Gordon House, on March 5.

“The completion is expected to add another $199 million, and just to indicate that we’ll have 36 shops [of a total of 48] ready for the 20th of March; so, we’ll have a soft opening then and a full opening in April of this year,” Mr. Bartlett said.

Regarding the beach development programme, some 15 beaches are expected to be redeveloped for the 2024/25 fiscal year, at a projected expenditure of $140 million.

“The last fiscal year we spent a lot of time doing designs and preparing for the execution this year. It’s not just to create a space for bathing; it is going to be an ecosystem that enables us to enjoy not just the beach but the facilities,” Mr. Bartlett said.

He also cited the Pagee Beach in Port Maria, St. Mary, where the designs for the redevelopment are completed and are awaiting statutory approval from the Municipal Corporation.

“The project is expected to be phased in, beginning in 2024/25, and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has been very diligent in their work in regard to this, so we have to be careful that we do it right, and we are always mindful of the environmental integrity that we do not breach,” Mr. Bartlett said.