Government signs agreement for construction of luxury hotel in cabrits

Dominica can look forward to the construction of a luxury resort in Cabrits, Portsmouth, thanks to arrangements made by the ruling DLP-led Administration.

The Government of Dominica and Range Capital Partners Dominica Ltd. signed an agreement for the construction of the resort on Friday November 7th, at the Fort Young Hotel.

Discussions for that construction began in 2013 after the Budget was passed in Parliament.

Twelve months later, the DLP-led Administration is confident that this resort will severely impact the tourism sector in Dominica in a positive way.

“The objectives of this particular project are clear: in the first place, it is for the construction of a high-end hotel capable of attracting clients who are of high value. This facility will add to the number of high-quality rooms in Dominica particularly in the north and will no doubt support the other investments in the north of Dominica and indeed the entire country,” said the Hon. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.

He added, “More broadly, we look forward to fulfilling the objects of creating high quality direct jobs, opportunities for farmers to sell their produce and for other service providers to create small and medium-sized businesses to provide services to the hotel.”

Range Capital Partners Dominica Ltd has been contracted to build the resort.

Mohammed Asaria represents the firm and says the resort is one that will be sought after by many in the region.

“It has taken us one year to get to this stage as documents have been finalised with the Government , technical due diligence on the site and legal due diligence has been undertaken and initial design work has already been complete.

“Let me tell you about the site; we believe Douglas Bay in Cabrits is one of the finest beaches in this part of the Caribbean. It’s a site which has privacy and allows for the creation of a unique hotel product; a hideaway resort. We will be developing a 100-room romance suite hotel there which will be one of the finest in this part of the Caribbean. Design work will commence immediately, environmental work to which we are very sensitive will be undertaken with all sensitivities. [We will] ensure that what is designed and built is something which has harmony between land and sea, waves and wildlife and ensure and experience from sunrise to sunset which is  unrivalled,” Asaria said.

Kempinski Group will manage the resort. Vice President, Xavier Destribats explained, “In Kempinski, we adapt to the local environment and we will certainly do here. We actually have a company called Kreen which makes sure that all our new openings, hotels are really following Mother Nature. Obviously we will [collaborate] with the local team, we will make sure we bring all our know-how from Europe for the training and we would like to make sure that in Dominica, we will have the Kempinski spirit and the European heritage of luxury.”

The agreement was signed by Range Capital Partners Dominica Ltd and Rosemund Edwards on behalf of the Government of Dominica.

Kempinski Group is based in Geneva, Switzerland started in 1897.  It currently runs 73 hotels worldwide with 30 more soon to open.

The project will be funded under arrangements of the Citizenship by Investment Programme.