Connect with us

Caribbean News

JAMAICA: Amaterra Group and Marriott International Partner on New Hotel Development

Published

on

Hon. Edmund Bartlett

Montego Bay, November 17, 2019 – Jamaica – The Amaterra Jamaica Group has entered a hotel management operator agreement with global chain, Marriott International.  The partnership will see Marriott bringing its first all-inclusive property to the island. 

An agreement formalising the arrangement was signed during a press launch at the Hard Rock Café in St. James on Wednesday (November 13).  The project, to be sited in Trelawny, will be Amaterra’s flagship development. It will initially comprise 800 rooms, and boast two miles of white-sand beach.  Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2020 and be completed in 2022.

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, who spoke during the signing ceremony, said the partnership is a “high point for our tourism investment programme”.   He emphasised that the deal is indicative of Trelawny’s repositioning as a strong tourism destination on the island.

Mr. Bartlett further pointed out that the arrangement, along with several other investments in the pipeline, will see the parish boasting close to 15,000 hotel rooms “which will make it the largest block for formal tourism accommodation within [Jamaica’s] tourism sector”.

The Minister also underscored the importance of ensuring that Jamaica’s cultural offerings, including food, are heavily incorporated in new tourism developments on the island.

For his part, Chairman of the Amaterra Group, Keith Russell, noted that the company welcomed the opportunity to be involved in the construction of Marriott’s first all-inclusive hotel, to be “built from scratch”, in the Caribbean.  He assured that the development will present new opportunities for Jamaicans.

“There will be opportunities, with due consideration to cost and to quality, to Jamaican professionals, workers, companies; [they] will be a part of this and all other things we do at Amaterra,” he said.

Meanwhile, Marriott International’s Vice President of Development for the Caribbean and Latin American Region, Brojan Kumer, said the entity was “very excited to add this project to our all-inclusive business model”.

“We are looking forward to seeing this hotel being built and opened. Our Bonvoy [loyalty] members have been waiting for some time to see a great resort in Jamaica where they can actually earn and ‘burn’ their points,” Mr. Kumer said.

He also noted that Amaterra Group’s vision and passion for Trelawny and Jamaica, as a whole, are unmatched and “we are very happy to help them as partners”.

Marriott International currently has more than 7,200 properties under 30 leading brands in 134 countries. The organisation also boasts 137 million Marriott Bonvoy loyalty members.

Amaterra is developing a resort township on approximately 1,000 acres of land, which is earmarked for the development of 8,000 hotel rooms and branded residences in Trelawny.

Contact: Serena Grant

Release: JIS

Photo Captions:

Header: Amaterra Jamaica Group Chairman, Keith Russell (left), and Director, Paula Russell (second left), observe the formalities during Wednesday’s (November 13) signing of a hotel management agreement with Marriott International, being undertaken by the latter entity’s Chief Development Officer for the Caribbean and Latin America, Laurent De Kousemaker (second right), and Vice President, Brojan Kumer, at the Hard Rock Café in Montego Bay, St. James.

1st insert: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, addresses guests attending the press launch and official signing of a hotel management agreement between Amaterra Jamaica Group and Marriott International, at the Hard Rock Café in Montego Bay, St. James on Wednesday (November 13).

2nd insert: Guests attending the press launch and official signing of a hotel management agreement between Amaterra Jamaica Group and Marriott International, at the Hard Rock Café in Montego Bay, St. James, on Wednesday (November 13).

Serena Grant Photos

Caribbean News

CARPHA Progresses to Eligibility for the First Disbursement of Pandemic Funding

Published

on

Following a landmark Public Signing Ceremony for the Pandemic Fund (PF) Technical Cooperation Agreement (“Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Prevention, Preparedness, and Response” [RG-T4387] Project) on December 14, 2023, in Trinidad, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) continues to progress towards the start of implementation.

 CARPHA fulfilled the IDB’s nine conditions prior to first disbursement, achieving full eligibility on March 15, 2024, and is now eligible for the first disbursement. This milestone achievement in just 3 months after the signing speaks to the commitment of both CARPHA, the Executing Agency, and IDB, the Implementing Entity, toward the regional PF project with the objective of supporting the reduction of the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by building pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) surveillance & early-warning systems (EWS), laboratory systems and workforce capacity, regionally at CARPHA and in countries.

Since the signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement and as part of the conditions prior to first disbursement, CARPHA has achieved the following key outputs (i) the development of the PF Project Operations Manual, Multi-annual Execution Plan, Procurement Plan, Financial Plan, Procedure for CARPHA’s Financial Reporting System; (ii) vacancy announcements for two tranches of consultants with the subsequent hiring of five (Technical Coordinator, Financial Specialist, Procurement Specialist, Operations Officer and Project Operations Coordinator) and (iii) the establishment of the Project Execution Unit (PEU) and Project Execution Steering Committee (PESC). The dedicated PEU will be responsible for execution according to its planned timelines, which will be led by the Dr. Lisa Indar, the Project Director (CARPHA’s Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Division).

 CARPHA, as the lead regional public health agency and an expression of Caribbean Cooperation in Health is mandated by its Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to support its 26 CARPHA Member States (CMS) in bolstering national systems and coordinating regional response to public health threats. The Agency works closely with regional and international agencies and uses regional mechanisms, surveillance systems, and networks for coordinating its public health response work.

In July 2023, the PF Governing Board announced that CARPHA’s regional entity proposal, entitled ‘Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Strengthened Integrated Early Warning Surveillance, Laboratory Systems and Workforce Development’ was successfully selected for the first round of financing. It was one of only 19 proposals selected from over 300 submissions and the only regional project. The three priority areas in the proposal are: (i) Comprehensive disease surveillance and EWS, (ii) Laboratory systems and (iii) Human resources and public health and community workforce capacity.

This project is expected to begin implementation in March 2024, starting off with a blended onboarding session. A Stakeholder Meeting with countries is tentatively planned for July 2024.

CARPHA remains dedicated to working together with the IDB, CARPHA Member States and the Pandemic Fund to successfully implement the regional proposal geared toward reducing the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean.

Continue Reading

Caribbean News

Men who had Murdered Man, Marley Higgs’ cell phone face Court

Published

on

Wilkie Arthur

Freelance Court Correspondent

The prosecution intends to try two young North Caicos men, both age 21 for the offense of possession of property of a murdered man, property that was stolen and landed in their possession.

The phone belonged to Peureton ‘Marley’ Higgs, who is believed to have been an innocent gunned down at his apartment complex in the Glass Shack area in a spray of bullets on February 2 that killed another man and wounded two others, including a ten-year-old little girl.

The cell phone was described as white in colour, an iPhone, in a hard black case. 

On Monday, March 18th, JEFFVANO HANDFIELD of North Caicos pleaded not guilty to the offense, and the matter was adjourned to April 2024. He was granted bail in the matter.

A second North Caicos man was charged similarly.  

SARENO CAPELLAN aka, Kino Williams is the second individual brought before the court pertaining to the said cellphone. He appeared in court a week after JEFFVANO HANDFIELD, the date being Monday March 25th 2024.

The case for the Crown is that both men sometime in February of this year possessed the cellphone knowing or suspecting it to be stolen property.

Continue Reading

Caribbean News

Supreme Court Closed for Easter

Published

on

NOTICE is hereby given that the Easter Recess shall commence on Friday 29th April, 2024 and end on Friday 5th April, 2024. During the Easter Recess Judge Selochan will be available to deal only with matters that are urgent or require prompt attention.

Court Business During the Easter Recess

A person who wishes to have a matter heard during the recess must file a certificate of urgency along with an affidavit, which must set out the reasons why the matter is urgent or requires prompt attention. The matter will not be listed during the recess unless the Judge deems it fit for urgent hearing.

Opening Hours During the Easter Holiday

The Supreme Court’s last sitting day for the first term is Thursday 28th March, 2024. The Court will officially resume sittings on Monday 8th April, 2024. The Supreme Court Offices in both Grand Turk and Providenciales will continue to operate while the Court is not sitting during the recess.

The Court Office will be closed on the following public holidays:

  • Friday 29th March, 2024 (Good Friday) CLOSED
  • Monday 1st April, 2024 (Easter Monday) CLOSED

Continue Reading

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

TRENDING