March 13, 2019 marks one year since the re-election of the New National Party Government to serve another term in office.
Facilitating the Weekly Post Cabinet Press Briefing on Tuesday, Prime Minister, Dr. the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell said the country has continued to experience positive economic growth with a number of major projects coming on stream.
Dr. Mitchell spoke specifically of the positive impact on the rural economy through projects such as the newly announced Range Developments project which will bring two luxury resorts to St. David, creating at least 600 jobs during the construction phase and the Cane Co Limited /Renegade Rum Distillery project in St. Andrews which is already employing a considerable number of persons in sugarcane production and construction of the facility.
Dr. Mitchell said, “There is a big plus to the Range Developments project because as you know, most of the hotel and development activities occurring in the country, is in St. George’s.
This one will bring two luxury brands to the eastern side of the country and will create hundreds of jobs.
They will also be investing in training in hospitality arts, not just for their hotels but on the national level.
Another good thing is that they insist on local employment.”
Commenting on another major rural project, the Prime Minister said, “Not only is it asignificant investment, it is already providing employment for persons involved in sugarcane production and once the distillery is operational, it will boost manufacturing levels in the country.
The project is already having a serious impact on rural development; if you go to St. Andrew now, you will see a number of ancillary activities taking place as a result of this project.”
Generally speaking, Dr. Mitchell noted that Grenada continues to see a considerable number of investment projects. He disclosed that in 2018, the Investment Promotion Agency approved 47 projects, 23 of which are in the tourism sector, 19 in manufacturing and five in the services sector. Combined, these projects have an estimated value of EC $322 million and are expected to create 1,200 permanent jobs.
The Prime Minister also revealed that foreign capital brought in through investment projects totaled more than EC $400 million in 2018, a significant increase over 2017, when foreign capital inflow was $166 million.
Dr. Mitchell said local investors are also showing significant interest, noting that 38 of the applications processed by the Investment Promotion Agency in 2018 were from local investors.
