Harmony Cove project negotiated in nat’l interest – Holness
Published:Wednesday | July 23, 2025 | 12:08 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
Amid doubts about funding, and approvals from the municipal body and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness says his administration handled and negotiated the Harmony Cove development project in the national interest and without compromising the country’s financial stability.
During a symbolic ribbon cutting for the long-awaited development in Trelawny, the prime minister gave the assurance that taxpayers’ money had not been sacrificed to attract the massive luxury hotel investment.
“The Government did not give up more than it had to for this project to be considered feasible. The public purse was not sacrificed to make this project profitable. The people of Jamaica are going to get from this project significant benefit, in fact, more benefit than what we would have had to give as incentives,” said Holness.
The prime minister also addressed concerns that governments in fiscally vulnerable positions often agree to one-sided deals out of desperation. However, he said his administration took a deliberate and disciplined approach to negotiations.
“Governments that are in the position that Jamaica finds itself in are oftentimes forced to make decisions on projects that sound good on paper, but when they are implemented, they create all kinds of challenges and problems,” he said, referencing Jamaica’s past struggles with high debt and unemployment to highlight the temptation some governments face.
“When your debt is 150 per cent of GDP, and you get a US$1-billion project, you are going to give as much incentives as you can. In fact, sometimes you give away not just the house, you give the kitchen sink and the doghouse just to secure the project,” Holness continued.
LENGTHY NEGOTIATION
However, Holness was quick to declare that his administration did not embrace that mindset in its negotiation, which he said was testy at times.
“This Government did not do that,” said Holness, revealing that the deal was the result of “lengthy, detailed, and sometimes tense negotiations,” with both the Government and the investors working to protect their respective interests.
“We engaged in very detailed negotiations that sometimes got very testy because there was a lot at stake on both sides,” he revealed, noting that the project reached its current stage due to government personnel “who understand business as well as government”.
Holness also sought to explain that his team was able to communicate Jamaica’s vulnerabilities during the negotiations, emphasising also that ordinary Jamaicans would benefit and not just the foreign investors or the country’s elite.
“We understood the risk of our business partners, and we were able to explain to them the risk to our public purse, the political risk, the environmental risk, the social risk, the climate-change risk, the infrastructure risk, and it was a long debate,” he said.
Harmonisation Limited was projected to lose $122 million for financial year 2025-2026, and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service said the company would continue to collaborate with stakeholders on the overall development plan for the project, which has been in gestation for two decades. The Jamaica Public Bodies, which sets out the plans and projections for public bodies for the 2025-2026 financial year, states that the joint-venture partners would continue the design phase of the project and obtain environmental and building permits approval.
The Harmony Cove development, situated on 2,300 acres of land located in Trelawny between Montego Bay in St James and Ocho Rios in St Ann, is a partnership between Nexus Luxury Collection and the Government of Jamaica.
Peter Charrington, chairman of Harmony Cove Limited, described the launch as a “promise kept” and “a turning point for Jamaica’s economic future”.
“Today is not just a milestone moment, but a movement towards transformation. Supported by people, partnership, progress, and, as Prime Minister Holness puts it, strategic productivity leading to prosperity for all of Jamaica,” said Charrington.
“This signifies hope, unfolding across the beautiful coast of Trelawny, encapsulating the possibility of harnessing our greatest ambitions and turning them into reality. This will be a transformational chapter in the history of this parish and the future of Jamaica’s tourism and economic landscape
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has described the long-awaited US$1-billion Harmony Cove development as a bold signal of confidence in Jamaica’s economic trajectory and a transformative pivot towards a luxury-driven future for the country’s tourism industry. Speaking also at the event, he hailed the project as the culmination of years of strategic planning and a landmark in Jamaica’s tourism evolution.
TRANSFORMATIVE MOVE
“This Harmony Cove development stands as a powerful testament to the unwavering confidence that investors have in Jamaica’s tourism industry and the overall economic climate,” said Bartlett, who framed the development as a legacy move. “This is the planting of seeds that will grow into a transformative addition to our tourism landscape, creating ripples throughout our country.”
Harmonisation Limited, which is owned by the Government, has entered into a framework agreement with Tavistock Group Inc (Tavistock Group) for the development of Harmony Cove as a major integrated resort in Trelawny.
The ministry has touted the projected large-scale investment by Harmony Cove Limited as a transformative project for the hospitality sector in Jamaica. Tavistock Group has indicated that the investment capital and start-up costs associated with the project will be approximately US$1 billion. The joint-venture partners are the government-owned Harmonisation Limited and Tavistock Group.
The ceremony marked the beginning of the implementation phase of the project, which was conceptualised more than 20 years ago under former Prime Minister PJ Patterson.
Kingsley Thomas, Patterson’s point man on the project at the time, yesterday welcomed the development efforts.
“We welcome the fact that there has been some activity and hope that it will result in some great action taken in bringing that development to a reality,” Thomas told The Gleaner.
During yesterday’s ceremony, no clear times were given on when construction of the project would begin, when the doors of the completed luxury resort would finally open.