PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – The Trinidad and Tobago government Thursday said it had established a committee headed by a former finance minister Wendell Mottley to negotiate with the Sandals Resort International (SRI) to build two hotels in Tobago.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley told reporters that he is certain that Trinidad and Tobago tourism product would benefit significantly from the investment to be made by Sandals as had been the case of other Caribbean islands, like Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Barbados and St Lucia, where the SRI has a presence.

“We have virtually by invitation asked the sandals Group to bring their label to Tobago because we are confident that a Caribbean label of international standard with worldwide acceptance which exists as a major part of the tourism thrust in the Bahamas, in Antigua, in Barbados in Jamaica, in St Lucia and Grenada, that that label could bring significant benefits to our tourism potential in Tobago,” he said.

Rowley said that Cabinet had received presentations “as to what is possible after certain site selection exercises were done”.

“A site was identified in Tobago and Sandals was asked to express its interest and it has done so and certain architectural presentations were made to the government of Trinidad and Tobago where a project in the scale of two hotels to the tune of 750 rooms in partnership with the government of Trinidad and Tobago is something that we are actively considering,” Rowley said.

He told reporters that there had been “scoops of misinformation” in the media regarding the project, but that he understood the situation “as people tried to get ahead of others without information or with part of the information.

“But frankly what is happening we are looking and we are wanting that label in Tobago,” he said, adding that Cabinet had agreed to appoint the committee “that will be the one that will do the negotiations for what is to happen with respect to this project we are pursuing for Sandals in Tobago”.