By Shanna Moore
The multimillion-dollar Hyatt hotel project on The City’s old waterfront is set to finally begin in January, generating 1 500 jobs and significantly bolstering the construction industry, according to developer Mark Maloney. He made the revelation at the groundbreaking ceremony for the WestBeach Barbados development on Friday. The proposed Hyatt Ziva all-inclusive hotel stretching from the Pierhead along Lower Bay Street will include 367 hotel rooms and 28 luxury condominiums, with an expected completion time of two years. Maloney described the venture as a “huge undertaking that has never been done on the island before” and a major driver for the local economy and tourism industry. “It’s lovely to be here and to see new developments starting. We’ve been working assiduously with the Hyatt over the last year,” Maloney said. Despite the positive outlook, the concrete and construction magnate acknowledged challenges in securing sufficient resources for the project, pointing to the numerous large-scale developments currently underway across the island, including the Pendry, Port 49, Royalton, and Pierhead projects. “[The new Hyatt hotel] is a huge, huge dividend for the construction sector, but the fact remains that we don’t have enough resources in Barbados to build all these projects,” he said. “We need to have additional resources, but it will create amazing growth, and that’s incredible.” Maloney praised the improved efficiency of government planning processes, which he credited for providing investors with the certainty needed to advance large-scale developments. “Processes now with town planning have improved. You get your permissions more expedited and efficiently, and it’s heartening to know that because we now have certainty,” he explained. He also highlighted the significant time and effort required to plan and finance projects of this scale: “It takes a long time to plan and put financing in place to start the smallest of projects, so you need to have certainty that the work is going to get done. And you’re definitely seeing that now.” Providing an update on the project’s progress, Maloney noted that the financing is well on track, with a $90 million loan secured from the African Export-ImportBank and other financial arrangements finalised. In terms of construction, he outlined innovative soil improvement techniques that will be used at the site, which differ from traditional piling methods. “We’re not driving piles. We’re using technology to improve the soil on the site, digging it out and creating rock piers with special rocks made in Barbados and a combination of cement and other materials,” Maloney said, adding that equipment is en route to the island for this purpose. “We’ve commissioned a French company, who are getting ready to mobilise.
Hopefully, within the next month, we’ll start that work.” The development, led by international beach resort firm TLDI, known for building hotels for Sandals, Four Seasons, and Ritz-Carlton across the Caribbean, is being supported by a team of international, regional, and local players. “We have a really solid team,” said Maloney as he touted the involvement of TLDI and local expertise. [email protected]
