Barbados’ improved credit ratings are helping attract investment despite mounting construction costs and logistical challenges, Finance Minister Ryan Straughn said on Wednesday at the opening of an exclusive condominium complex on Upper Bay Street.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $60m Fort Carlisle Residences on the Bay on Wednesday, Straughn said annual construction changes were forcing the government to adapt its decisions.
The $60m Fort Carlisle Residences on the Bay.
The Finance Minister set his remarks in the context of the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme, which was introduced in 2018 to stabilise and turn the economy around.
In a presentation delivered in September last year by Central Bank Governor Dr Kevin Greenidge to the Barbados Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors on the BERT programme, he painted a picture of an economy grappling with multiple issues: private investment was uneven across industries, while investment gaps persisted in infrastructure, housing and innovation; logistics, green energy, agro-processing and high-tech industries lagged in foreign direct investment.
Regulatory bottlenecks in approvals, land titling and project readiness also deterred capital inflows.
With that as a backdrop, Straughn said: “I want to congratulate you [Fort Carlisle developers] because, since you started your conceptualisation and as we looked at how we would implement BERT, a lot has happened. And every year, for investors and for the government, we have to make decisions in terms of how we would adapt, given that the environment continues to be ever-changing, and having real impact, particularly in the construction space.
“So, I do not envy your team for having to navigate what has become, and is becoming still, a very complicated space, logistically, and trying to meet timelines and costs associated with that.”
The Minister continued: “Luckily, we have been able to improve the country’s credit rating, which has meant that the cost of capital is very reasonable, notwithstanding what is happening outside of Barbados. That is important, because that is what gives investors the confidence that they can execute projects on a timely basis. So, I think, we have been able to do the initial repair to start to see investment coming back into the economy.”
The new Fort Carlisle Residences on the Bay was not just a tourism complex, but an example of how Barbadians could mobilise private capital, Straughn declared.
“This is not people from outside coming in to invest. This is an example of Barbadians working together to bring a project to reality. And therefore, in the same way that we are working on the Real Estate Investment Trust to be able to mobilise more resources within this space, I think this serves as a real example for Barbadians as to how we can get things done.”
Drawing on an earlier suggestion by developer Dean Straker that if one can dream something, one can make it happen. The Minister said Barbadians owed it to themselves to mobilise as broadly as possible to build more projects like Fort Carlisle, and bring Barbados closer to world-class standards.
Straker said the project had its challenges, but attributed its successful completion to the right people working together and trusting each other to achieve a common dream.
The project reminded him of the value of partnership, he said. But he also sought to deliver a wider message to Barbadians.
“We must believe that we can build what we can imagine; and we can. If you can see something in your mind and you are prepared to work hard, remain determined and bring the right people together, you give yourself a real chance of making it happen.”
Success should make everyone more willing to encourage others to share opportunities and help those around them move forward, he said.
Co-developer Mark Kinch said the project represented confidence in Barbados, its economy, its tourism product and what its developers and professionals could deliver on the waterfront.
Kinch said the project created hundreds of jobs during construction, with citizens and residents making up almost 100 per cent of the workforce.
The project, located within the UNESCO-designated Bridgetown and its Historic Garrison, consists of 32 condominium apartments: 16 three-bedroom apartments, 14 two-bedroom apartments and two penthouses.
The nine-storey building, which took two and a half years to complete, is wheelchair-accessible and offers a panoramic view of Carlisle Bay and Bridgetown.
(EJ)
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