GREEN ISLAND, Hanover — Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness and Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett officially opened the country’s largest and most eco-friendly hotels — the adults-only Princess Senses The Mangrove and Princess Grand Jamaica, a family property — here last Thursday.

The resorts’ development, representing a US$400-million investment, promises to transform Jamaica’s tourism sector by creating sustainable economic growth and employment opportunities.

Bartlett said Princess is the largest facility to open its doors in Jamaica in the last 15 years.

“I remember when we opened others that will not share this evening’s spotlight with us, we spoke about them as being the largest, but now we can definitely say [more than] 1,000 rooms, plus overwater villas and a casino in construction — the first casino in Jamaica’s history — to come…,”stated Bartlett.

The tourism minister, in his speech, reiterated that Princess is the first fully sustainable hotel to be developed in the country.

“Look around you. This hotel has been built in harmony with the environment and the ecosystem. There is no other hotel in the region that has a mangrove forest as part of its attraction,” emphasised Bartlett.

He also pointed out that Princess is the first hotel in Jamaica to construct 500 rooms for the workers of the tourism industry.

“The prime minister has advised me that every investment that comes thereafter must have with it a component of housing for the workers of the tourism industry,” relayed Bartlett.

Princess Hotels and Resorts General Manager Enrico Pezzoli said the properties are expected to elevate Jamaica’s all-inclusive experience for visitors. The hotels have been in operation for six weeks and already Tripadvisor has ranked Princess Grand Jamaica as number two for the all-inclusive section in Jamaica.

Pezzoli said there are currently 1,400 staff, and this number is expected to increase to 1,700 in a few weeks when the hotels enter full operation.

Regarding the first full-service casino, where guests will be able to enjoy a state-of-the-art gaming lounge with a food and beverage experience, the general manager said construction has commenced and it is expected to be opened by the fourth quarter of 2025.

The two hotels currently sit on more than 100 acres of a mangrove area and Pezzoli made it clear that the hotel is committed to preserving and restoring the natural beauty, which is crucial for the country’s ecosystem.

And with the supply of potable water being a hot topic in Hanover and Westmoreland, the general manager took the time to explain that Princess is currently self-sustainable, with its own electricity-generating plant and water treatment plant. Pezzoli said a natural gas generation plant, along with a one megawatt (MW) solar system, is on property.

“Thanks to this technology, fuelled by natural gas, we are able to produce our own electricity, and in regards to water, which is a very hot topic, especially in this side of the island, we are also fully independent by adding a reverse osmosis plant treating water coming from wells we have on property,” stated Pezzoli.

In acknowledging the community of Green Island, which he said has welcomed Princess, Pezzoli said the hotel — which has adopted Green Island High School and Harding Hall Preparatory School — will continue to maintain a long-lasting relationship with the community. It has also developed a relationship with Noel Holmes Hospital in Hanover and Savanna-La-Mar Public General Hospital in Westmoreland.

For his part, Holness argued that the stable investment environment provided by the Government over the past nine years has resulted in a construction and expansion boom within the tourism sector.

With such major achievements, Holness said now is the time to accelerate into the next round of speed and efficiency in getting things done, improving supporting infrastructure and, most importantly, ensuring that Jamaicans benefit from the stability.

“We have gotten stability. Now let us focus on getting the seawall road fixed [in the town of Lucea], which is a major obstacle and inconvenience,”Holness said.

Holness’s comments follow an earlier plea by the Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels, during his presentation, for attention to be given to the road network in the parish, which, he said, is a challenge.

“Let’s get the bypass of Hopewell and Lucea done. Let’s make the investment in fixing the town of Lucea. That lovely town with so many historical buildings and artefacts that could become an attraction in and of itself. Let’s do that,” encouraged Holness.

The prime minister, who said he is not into the business of making promises but commitments, noted that the plans and alignment for the bypass are in place and allocations will be made available in the next budget to start the project.

“Four years ago, I committed that we would do the Montego Bay perimeter road and the Long Hill bypass. Both of them are now in progress, on schedule, and will finish on time for the Jamaican people to benefit. As soon as that is done, the bypass will be done here,” said Holness.

He said the bypass will complement the level of ongoing and upcoming investments.

“We are going to create the best tourism corridor in the Caribbean when we have completed that bypass from Montego Bay straight through to Negril,”stated Holness, who reiterated what he said are excellent plans the Government currently has for Negril.

“We have some excellent plans for Negril, including a new airport [and] two parks — one will be a beach park and the other will be an ecopark. But more than that, we recognise that Negril may have lost some of its lustre as a tourism destination and so we intend to declare Negril a special investment area to bring in new energy and new vibrancy into the tourism to recreate the old energy in Negril, to get back Negril as the pulse of tourism. We will get it done,”assured Holness.

A view of a section of one of the Princess hotels from the beach