Pierhead Project Turns Into Expensive Little Marina

"Construction of marina in bridgetown to begin in about nine months

Years of delay and controversy are about to culminate with the construction of an upscale $202 million marina in Bridgetown, work on which is expected to start early next year. But by the time Barbados has finished paying for the super yacht facility in 25 years, the tax payers would have spent $505 million in a Build Operate Lease and Transfer deal with a St. Lucia company.

However, Minister of Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler asserted today that the benefits would be significant, including $132 million from the reclamation of lands and sale of 80 berths alone.  Sinckler announced plans for the project, to be located in the area of the Pierhead/Bay Street/Carlisle Bay section of the City, via a ministerial statement delivered in the House of Assembly this morning on the resumption of sittings.  He said following completion of a tendering process, Government agency the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. had signed a memorandum of understanding with St. Lucia's SMI Infrastructure Solutions Inc. for the venture to take place.

"The project, which has been under consideration for several administrations, and for many years, will see the construction of a super yacht marina consisting of approximately 80 berths...," he said.  "The memorandum of understanding was signed with SMI Infrastructure Solutions Inc. for a Build, Own, Lease and Transfer financing arrangement. "With the marina expected to cost $202 million, Sinckler said Government would have to make annual payments of $20.2 million at an interest rate of 8.8 per cent and that "lease payments will reduce overtime in accordance with the quantum and timing of cost recovery".

Barbados' overall payments between next year and 2037 will be $505 million, including interest of $303 million, but the St. Michael North West MP suggested the benefits would outweigh the costs.

"Cost recovery is estimated at US $66 million for the reclamation of lands and the sale of berths. This transformational tourism infrastructural project will assist in repositioning the Barbados tourism product offering, while being the catalyst for the regeneration of the Bridgetown area," he said.  "The tourism product offering will also move towards the upper end of the tourism market by attracting more high net worth individuals, who can be expected to own berths at the super yacht marina. They will also purchase condominiums on the 10 acres of prime real estate that will be created through the reclaimed lands, which are the by-product of the building of the marina."  Additionally, the minister said development of the marina "will result in enhancement of the beach in the immediate vicinity of Carlisle Bay, which will be targeted by the coastal tourism master plan for future development".

"Other economic benefits include the injection of foreign exchange into Barbados, the creation of hundreds of jobs during the construction and permanent jobs after construction, repositioning of Barbados' tourism product and the marina acting as a catalyst for major new investment along the Bay Street corridor," he noted.
"Construction is expected to commence in about nine months and prior to the commencement of construction stakeholder meetings will be held."

Construction of a marina in Bridgetown has been in the offing for well over a decade, with a previous administration originally seeking to partner with local conglomerate Barbados Shipping & Trading, a major landowner in the area.  In recent times the current administration's handling of the venture has been criticised repeatedly by Opposition Leader Owen Arthur, who claimed the projected cost had risen to more than $626 million and it was facing legal difficulties."

Source: Barbados Today

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Abramovich, Eclipse & Barbados: Three of a kind

Source: Barbados TravelAdvisor Forum

Pierhead battle brewing

"Government may face court action over its handling of the award of a contract for construction of the multi-million dollar Pierhead Marina Development Project.

An American law firm representing Irish company Lagan Construction Limited has written the board of the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTII) citing an alleged breach of an “agreement” it said was reached between its client and the BTII last November for the said contract and is now threatening to “move swiftly to protect its rights”.

Barbados TODAY has learnt that the BTII and by extension Government were given until last Wednesday to respond to a three-page letter from Washington D.C. law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on behalf of its client Lagan, otherwise they would seek legal recourse.

This was after a November 13, 2009 decision by the BTII’s four member Project and Tenders Committee headed by then chairman Dr. Jerry Thorne to award the Pierhead contract to Lagan was overturned and the decision communicated directly to Lagan International Director, Richard Jones.

That letter sent from Barbadian law firm Inn Chambers last November 27 on behalf of the BTII and copied to BTTI CEO Stuart Layne and Thorne, charged that Thorne had “acted ultra vires” (beyond his powers) and that “the entirety of the contents of the said correspondence in no way represents the position of the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc”. The chairman tendered his resignation three days later and it was accepted.

But the controversy does not start or end there..."

Follow this link for more - Pierhead battle brewing

Pierhead Project Back From The Dead - In News Again

"FOUR MEMBERS of the board have parted company with the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTII).
Reports reaching THE NATION yesterday were that chairman Jerry Thorne, deputy chairman Mark Prescott, and members Paul Bernstein and Decourcey Headley have left the BTII. All of them have been on the board since 2008.

New appointments

It is understood that new appointments were made last month, and chartered accountant Andrew Marryshow was installed as the new chairman while businessman Chris deCaires is his deputy.
Several telephone calls to Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Darcy Boyce, and Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy for confirmation about this situation were not immediately returned. THE NATION was informed that both were attending meetings.

When contacted, Thorne, an orthopaedic surgeon, declined to comment, but deCaires confirmed that he was now on the BTII's board.
Reports indicated that the separation follows a disagreement over the $130 million Pierhead Development Project, which was switched from the Ministry of Tourism to the BTII in 2009.
That project, which has been in the works since 1988, includes plans for a marina, hotel, three blocks of condominiums, a retail and restaurant complex and a high-rise car park, as well as other services.
It was to transform the Pierhead and Lower Bay Street into a sophisticated shopping, entertainment and upscale accommodation area, and represent a partnership between Government, the private sector and foreign investors, with Government and the Barbados Shipping and Trading conglomerate as major landowners.
Last October, when asked about the project, chief executive officer of the BTII, Stuart Layne, said it was before Cabinet and he could not speak on the matter.
It is understood that a significant sum of money had already been spent by the former administration to conduct a study into the feasibility of this much-mooted project."

Source: http://www.nationnews.com/news/local/LEADbtii-resignations-FRONT-PAGE-LEAD

Toy-Boat Racing Gets On The Way This Weekend

Are they serious? Give me a break! If they were not saying it with a straight face, we would probably all be laughing at the Ministry of Tourism and its claim that this coming week of toy-boat racing in Carlisle Bay "was worthwhile and an important tool for bringing visitors from all parts of the world." Come on, who do they think they are kidding? Are they going to publish hotel occupancy numbers after this event?

Ever since St. Lucia stole the ARC Race two decades ago Barbados has been floundering looking for its niche in yachting and boating in the Caribbean. The only serious effort on this front has been the establishment of the Port St. Charles Marina a decade ago which basically is a gated "luxury" condo community built around a small lagoon. Condo sales and re-sales there have been good but the project has done precious little to put Barbados on the yachting map. If plans come to fruition they should be seeking to correct some of what went wrong with PSC with a controversial expansion just north starting construction in the fall.

Meanwhile, as we await PSC2 and the overdue "Tourism Masterplan" we may as well try to "bigup," if I may borrow a current colloquialism, the toy-boat racing this weekend. Come on, Senator Gilkes, you are no longer sailing coconut shells on the salt pond in Speightstown - these are the big leagues we are playing in right now. Look around and see what our competitors in St. Lucia and Grenada are doing and get with the program!

Dubaification Of Barbados Picks Up Steam

We now have a sketch and we can put a name and a face on at least one of the "significant local and foreign investors of good repute and business success..." (according to last year's Budget Speech by the Prime Minister). CBC News is reporting:

"A major realtor is proposing the creation of an island north of the Bridgetown harbour exclusively for tourism.

Director of Altman Realty, Paul Altman says this will cushion Barbados' against any negative impact from the current global economic crisis.

He believes the project would absorb all of Barbados' unemployment as well as provide a much needed economic boost, in the wake of the world economic crisis.

He made the comments at the first luncheon of the year for the Barbados Association of Professional Engineers at the Barbados Yacht Club."

Click here for entire article.

Pierhead Project Status

"IN 2007, the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTII) continued its work with the private sector in developing its properties. Included on that list of properties was tender procurement for the Pierhead Development Project.

The Pierhead Development Project, which was conceptualised in 1999 and was estimated at $130 million, had a projected time frame of five to seven years with investors coming on board early in 2000.

However, in 2007, the BTII said it had initiated a BOLT [Built Operation Lease and Transfer] Tender Procurement Process during the period under review, with a view to finding a partner to assist it in the construction of the Marina component of the Pierhead Development Project.

This process was ongoing at the end of the reporting period.

In addition, BTII was continuing discussions with its private sector partners concerning the development of the land-based component of the project, following the signing of the Management Agreement with the Le Meridien Hotel chain..."

Click here for entire BarbadosAdvocate.com article.

No Mention Of Pierhead Project In Budget

It is significant that there was no mention of the Pierhead project in last month's presentation of the Budget by the new Prime Minister. Consequently, it is left to us bloggers and other onlookers to speculate as to what might be going down (or going up for that matter). What the Prime Minister did say was that he was talking to deep-pocketed players who want to build islands and marinas off Barbados. Could it also mean that the long awaited Pierhead project is now being merged into this new thinking? If so, are we going to have to wait another dozen or so years for this project to get off the ground or come out of the water? So far only Starwood Hotels has committed to managing a luxury hotel to anchor the project but they are already busily getting into management contracts for their long list of luxury brands elsewhere in the Caribbean, so they are losing nothing the longer the process in Barbados is drawn out. Ultimately, it is the people of Barbados themselves who will miss the boat if they don't "head for the pier" in time.

The Dubaification Of Barbados: Road to riches or Faustian bargain?

Palm Jumeirah off Dubai

One of the proposals announced earlier this month in the first budget of the new DLP Government in Barbados is the creation of "offshore islands and marinas for yachts" to help satisfy the demand for beachfront land for tourism development. The proposal is not new since only last year the then Deputy Prime Minister, now Opposition Leader, mentioned it in connection with the passage of the national strategic development plan. It is curious now that she has not given the current initiative a wholehearted embrace. Of course, back then many who are now on the government benches were at best sniggering when she presented it or outright labeling the entire strategic development plan as not even worth the paper it was printed on as indeed it was described by their intrepid leader, the current Prime Minister and now new champion of the Dubaification of Barbados. As the saying goes - the more things change the more they remain the same.


click photo to enlarge

The massive land reclamation projects the likes of which were hitherto never seen in Barbados or perhaps even the New World, we learned from the Prime Minister that deep-pocketed local and international investors and developers are already lined up to start the digging and the filling. No further details were given by the PM in his 1-page statement (see photocopy above) except that it is all going to cost the Government and the people of Barbados - zip, zero, nada. It will all come out of the pockets of the aforementioned local and international investors. Again, as the saying goes, "if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is," but even if we give the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt on the funding, we still have not even begun to count the tremendous environmental, sociological and other costs involved here. A project(s) of this magnitude will fundamentally change Barbados forever. Are we ready for those changes?

For example, it was widely rumored in the last election campaign that the new government plans to introduce casino gambling to Barbados. Without going into all the allegations, it is quite obvious that placing the casinos on the "islands" would immediately outmaneuver the anti-casino gambling lobby in Barbados; but the "mainland" will still have to live with the costs and consequences. The Prime Minister promises to go about his tasks with prudence and care but we all know only too well that coming from a politician usually translates as expedience, and we also know the latter is usually very, very costly.

New City Rep. Wants Massive Hotels From Bay Street To Pelican Village

Click here for details.

Intertest in Pierhead

"Tourism minister Richard Sealy says he has already received several expressions of interest from serious investors about the proposed Pierhead Project.

The project will comprise a hotel, three blocks of condominiums, a retail area, restaurant complex and parking facilities.

Speaking at the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association's quarterly meeting, he added that priority should be given to local investors.

"We have to have foreign capital involved but we want the domestic capital as well. I always like to stress that when I talk about investment I do not only mean foreign investment On occasion those two seem to be interchangeable, investment means foreign investment. But investment also means local investment and we have some large enough players in Barbados who have shied away from the tourism industry that I think we can nudge and urge to get involved in something like that the Pierhead /Carlisle Bay activity.""

http://www.cbc.bb/index.pl/article?id=199306

Pierhead Exciting And Grandiose

Neal & Massey, the Trinidad conglomerate that recently bought out the largest corporation in Barbados - BS&T (Barbados Shipping & Trading), has described the long discussed government/private (BS&T) proposal for the redevelopment of the Pierhead area in Bridgetown as ?very exciting and grandiose? according to the nationnews.com. Whatever that means, one of the upshots of this recent merger could finally be the locating the cash needed to bring this long awaited project to fruition.

The hotel, marina, residential and shopping development became somewhat of a political football during the recent general elections. The then government, clearly frustrated with the slow pace of the development, was threatening to takeover the project entirely complaining that all BS&T was doing was bringing a new ?partner? to the table ever so often but nothing coming of it. The then opposition responded that when the government talks that way ?the fix was in? alluding the governments connections with possibly corrupt partners, and also complained about the message the takeover talk was sending in terms of investor confidence in Barbados. In the final analysis of the elections results this could be one of those mostly behind-the-scenes but telling issues which helped to bring about the change of government on January 15.

If Neal & Massey has the money or can get it, they better do something quickly since the window of opportunity for this sort of development in the area is rapidly closing, i.e. the competition in St. Lucia and Grenada is already eating our lunch. The big players in the growing yachting and marina segments are not exactly sitting around waiting for the Barbados government (whoever that is) and BS&T (whoever owns it) to get their acts together.


Jentillia

Government Frustrated By BS&T's Slow Meandering Pace On Pierhead Project

"GOVERNMENT WILL COMPULSORILY acquire the property to begin the Pierhead Development Project if it has to come to that...

Arthur told the gathering Government had enacted in Parliament the Pierhead Development Act to show the great role the project would play in the development of Bridgetown and Barbados' economy...

"Barbados Shipping & Trading owns assets that can be of tremendous strategic importance in the future transformation of the Barbadian society. We will not succeed in taking our country to the next level of development unless we carry out the transformation of our capital City..."

He said Government had worked assiduously with BS&T to see the best beach in Barbados pressed into service and this was one of the reasons for relocating the Coast Guard.

The Prime Minister also said Barbados was being bypassed by yachts because there was no marina in that location.

The company had a right to manage its interest, he said, adding that Government could not remain mum on this issue...

"We have seen this project move from one potential partner to another to another...

He said Government was making positive steps to address the relationship with BS&T to ensure the project came to fruition." - more -


http://www.nationnews.com/story/304245368805972.php

Pierhead Project Still On Cards

http://www.nationnews.com

Battle for BS&T no problem for Pierhead project
Published on: 10/8/07.

by Geralyn Edward

THE LONG-MOOTED public/private sector Pierhead Project is still on the cards, according to Barbados Shipping & Trading (BS&T) chief executive officer Anthony King.

Providing an update on the initiative which has been nearly a decade in the works, King told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY the current takeover battle between Neal & Massy and ANSA McAL for BS&T had not affected plans for one of the country's most ambitious projects.

The multimillion-dollar project would transform the Pierhead and lower Bay Street sites into a sophisticated shopping, entertainment and upscale accommodation area.

"In a way it is fortunate that there are not a lot of hard decisions or a lot of heavy financial decisions that have to be taken with the Pierhead project at this time.

"As a result, the takeover issue is not affecting it. But clearly, whoever is successful at the takeover will need to look at it and decide how they want to do things," he said in an interview over the weekend.

He explained that Neal & Massy, which for several years had a presence on the BS&T board of directors, "did not have any differences with us on it."

At the same time, the top BS&T executive said most of the project plans were on hold while Government completed the marina portion being handled by Barbados Tourism Investment Corporation.

'Octopus' Spotted In Carlisle Bay

The Nation is today reporting that Paul Allen's yacht, Octopus, was spotted yesterday in Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown. Too bad he could not moor this 416-foot behemoth up alongside a berth at the nearby Pierhead Marina. Oops, that's still on the drawing boards. He could have tied up at the nearby Bridgetown Port but wary owners and captains of these precious babies usually steer clear of commercial ports and harbors. A single ding could mean a million dollar paint job. Just three days ago this blog lamented the fact that Barbados is woefully behind the market trends in yachting tourism and this sighting underlines that concern.

www.mullinsbay.com

Is Barbados Missing The Boat In Yachting

A recent Business Week podcast highlighted the rise and rapid expansion of a new phenomenon in yachting - the mega-yacht and how it has caught marina developers off guard. Many marinas in the Caribbean and elsewhere are now rushing to satisfy this market. Next door in St. Lucia Rodney Bay is upgrading to provide berthing for 50 mega-yachts at one time, and also coming on stream is the redevelopment of the main marina on St. Thomas to handle mega-yachts specifically, as well as several marina projects in the Dominican Republic with mega-yacht components including the massive AtlanticA project. Of course, focusing on mega-yachts is not to overlook the virtual explosion in yachting generally and in tourism related marina construction across the Caribbean.

Where does Barbados sit in all of this excitement about potentially the richest niche of high-end tourism? - in a word not good. Yes, we have Port St. Charles, a successful luxury residential marina on the north west coast which is being copied elsewhere in the region like at the new The Landings residential marina project next door to the Rodney Bay Marina in St. Lucia. But lacking natural harbours and vacant lands for major marina development and being about a hundred miles outside the arc of the island chain has means that Barbados is not exactly at the tip of the tongue of many yachtsmen plying the Caribbean. So, the question is whether our not we are going to allow these potential negatives to keep us from reaping the fruits of the explosion in tourism yachting in the Caribbean.

This brings up the question of the Pierhead Project which is suppose to have a 180-slip marina component that has been languishing for many years. As is usual in Barbados for big undertakings of this kind the main problem seems to be money, i.e., a lack of it. The last real excitement about this project was when Le Meridien got onboard with the hotel component; but whatever funds they may or may not have been bringing to the table probably dried up when they themselves were gobbled up by Starwood Hotels which is currently in a mad rush getting out of the property ownership business and into the "management-only" business. Therefore, if anything big is to happen at the Pierhead it is going to call for bold leadership and foresight.

If we had let a little thing like lacking a natural harbour stop us from constructing a deep water port back in the late 1950s, we would still be tendering sugar in bags to ships moored in Carlisle Bay today, not to mention still lacking the world-class cruise tourism terminal the Port of Bridgetown is today. If we had let a little thing like being outside the arc of the island chain stop the construction of Seawell Airport back in the 1950s, we would not have the regional hub the Grantley Adams International is today, not to mention the island with one of the most successful tourism sectors in the entire Caribbean. The Pierhead project needs to be re-emphasized, retooled and repositoned as our next major leap forward in tourism. We are already 20 years behind St. Lucia which 16 years ago stole from us the lucrative ARC race (by the way - "the largest transocean sailing event in the world") and with the current lack of boldness and leadership in marina development on the island we may still miss the boat entirely.

www.mullinsbay.com

Pierhead Project Outline

Pierhead
Pierhead, Bridgetown
Hotel - Le Meridien (Starwood) 200 rooms
Apartments - 200
Marina - 180 slips
Museum
Shopping Plaza
Parking Garage
Developers - Pierhead Project Investors Inc
Date - 2010
Price Tag - Unknown
Status - Unknown

www.mullinsbay.com