The ceremonial signing for the St Vincent Marriott Resort will take place today, September 10 at Private Mt Wynne along the Leeward coast.

The signing, scheduled for 2:30 p.m., will take place between Marriott International and National Properties Limited (NPL).

Today’s ceremony will be addressed by Bojan Kumer – Vice President of Hotel Development for the Caribbean and Latin America of Marriott International, as well as Camillo Gonsalves, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning, Sustainable Development and Information Technology. The CEO of the SVG Tourism Authority Glen Beache, Minister of Tourism Cecil Mckie and General Manager of NPL, Hans King will also make remarks.

At a recent press conference, the finance minister said he is very proud of the fact that SVG had come to an agreement after a lengthy period of negotiation with the Marriott.

Gonsalves said that Marriott is proud to be the first luxury brand on mainland St Vincent and they are also proud to expand their presence in this part of the Caribbean.

Architectural firm, Ten Architectos was contracted for the design of the hotel and the finance minister said that the firm is currently concluding the structural design.

And once those are completed, the government will send out a bid for contractors best suited to execute the construction of the project.

“It’s gonna be a huge boost for employment, it is going to fuel the development of the NIS and GECCU Housing development they have up on the hill and it’s going to essentially create a new community there and Mt Wynne/Peter’s Hope will be well on its way to becoming the new luxury hotel strip in mainland St Vincent. It’s an exciting time and we’re very happy to have the Marriott on board,” Gonsalves said.

He also said that the neighbouring towns of Layou and Barrouallie will benefit from the 250-room hotel as it is not an all-inclusive one.

This means that guests will be encouraged to visit neighbouring communities.

As such, the minister said that the communities have to be prepared for the influx of tourists.

He added that money has been budgeted to begin beautification works in the neighbouring towns and for “preparing the residents of Layou and Barrouallie, enhancing their ability to make a dollar from the fact that we will have this influx of tourists in the area so its all part of a holistic concept but the Marriott has been, is an important cornerstone.”