MONTEGO BAY, St James — Chief executive officer and director general of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association (CHTA), Alec Sanguinetti, last week expressed satisfaction with the progress of construction of the US$45-million Montego Bay Conference Centre, where the Caribbean Marketplace will be staged from January 16-18 next year.

“Marketplace 2011 will be the best marketplace ever. We are very, very comfortable with the position of the conference centre,” Sanguinetti argued during a press conference at the Hilton Rose Hall, following the tour of the facility, which is at an advanced state of construction.

He added: “We are very comfortable with the conference centre and all that goes with it. It will be ready for this event and many more to come and we will be talking with the ministry (of tourism) and the JHTA about future CHTA events here at that conference centre.”

The CHTA boss also argued that the premier tourism marketing event of the Caribbean will generate an estimated US$1.8 million for the Jamaican economy. The event will welcome buyers, accompanied by international trade journalists from 35 countries.

His confidence is not only hinged on the usually warm hospitality of the Jamaican people, but the beautiful scenery available to the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

“So we are looking forward next year January 16-18 to the best marketplace ever and the reason for that is not only that we know the hospitality of Jamaica when they commit to do something, how well they do it — but we all just came from what will be the most beautiful conference centre in the Caribbean. And I really mean that because no other conference centre has that beautiful view of the Caribbean Sea,” noted Sanguinetti.

Ground was broken for the construction of the centre by Prime Minister Bruce Golding in February last year. Funding for the project was secured through a loan from the Chinese Government.

Construction of the facility is being undertaken by Complant, the Chinese construction firm which constructed the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium in Florence Hall four years ago, and who on Friday signed agreements to purchase three of the island’s sugar estates.

Noting that the convention centre was an “icing on the cake” to the tourism product, Bartlett disclosed that the International Congress and Conventions Association has indicated that over 400,000 conventions and exhibitions are organised every year worldwide “at an outlay of $US280 billion”.

“Jamaica is now in the running to seriously capture a part of this lucrative market,” an excited Bartlett expressed.