Pursue casino dream in Port Royal
THE EDITOR, Sir:
AFTER DECADES of debate and transcending several political administrations, it finally seems the sleepy town of Port Royal will be roaring back to life.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in his 2018-19 Budget presentation, indicated that the redevelopment of Port Royal has begun. It was reported shortly before that the Port Authority of Jamaica is taking steps to acquire a floating cruise ship pier for Port Royal.
I have long been baffled by our failure or lack of vision over the years to properly monetise the rich history of Port Royal as a tourist destination in its own right. Port Royal fits the bill to become a fullfledged entertainment zone, offering 24/7 entertainment activities.
Given its rich history, in addition to the cruise ship port, Port Royal is well poised to offer a Disney-type theme park or an archaeological/underwater attraction reflecting its rich heritage, cafes and shops, an entertainment centre, and a casino hotel.
The Port Royal development would nicely complement downtown Kingston and the historic Spanish Town, as envisioned by former Prime Minister Edward Seaga, and thereby create a significant world business and tourism destination in that triangle.
We should also revisit the idea for the construction of an overhead bridge to link Port Royal to downtown Kingston and the Norman Manley International Airport.
As an entertainment zone, Port Royal is the perfect place for a casino hotel. The casino gaming law was passed under the Bruce Golding administration in 2010, with two licences being granted by the Simpson Miller administration in 2014 – one to Harmony Cove and the other to Celebration Jamaica of Rose Hall, St James.
Since the launch of the Harmony Cove project over 13 years ago, and transcending four political administrations, the Government of Jamaica has lost and continues to lose more than $1 billion of taxpayers’ money on the stalled project, which has casino gaming as a major part of its planned suite of offerings.
Despite several reported projected start dates over the years, both Harmony Cove and Celebration Jamaica have failed to get started, seemingly with challenges getting sufficient financing, thereby bringing into serious doubt the feasibility of both projects.
The Casino Gaming Act provides for strict criteria for qualification of a licence to operate an integrated resort. Among the criteria is a minimum requirement of 2,000 hotel rooms, all of which must be new rooms.
Perhaps it is time the Government divest itself of the Harmony Cove project, which was first introduced with much fanfare in 2004 by then Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, and amend the casino law to provide for a casino resort with fewer rooms in Port Royal.