Pearl of China will not be in Belair

In early September 2016, St Maarten Prime Minister William Marlin and Finance Minister Richard Gibson unveiled an ambitious construction project named Pearl of China, a hotel complex with 326 rooms and 450 apartments to be built by a Chinese developer. Its goal was to attract over one million Chinese tourists annually.

The project was so big that many thought it was an announcement made for publicity on the eve of the Dutch local election in which Richard Gibson and William Marlin were candidates. The re-elected Prime Minister still leads the project on the side;  however, problems have arisen.

Indeed, the Belair site is problematic. The Chinese investors were unable to obtain a building permit due to technical constraints, specifically the land will not support buildings as high as planned by the architect. “We had to find another solution,” William Marlin said when he returned from an official visit to Beijing where he took part in international conferences and met with the investors of the Pearl of China. The alternate solution is to find another property. According to the Prime Minister, another is under consideration. “Negotiations will take place shortly,” he said without wanting to reveal the location.

According to our colleagues at the Daily Herald, the new property is in Mullet Bay at the location of an old hotel complex once managed by the government of the Chinese developers.

(Crédit photo : Today)