[dropcap]S[/dropcap]andals Resorts International (SRI) wishes to advise that it has suspended construction work on what was to be its fourth hotel in Saint Lucia, pending the outcome of outstanding legal matters filed by The Landings through its attorneys Peter Foster and Associates.
These matters were filed shortly after the company broke ground on the Pigeon Island site in May.
Our advice is that the claims are without merit, and the company reserves its rights to recover all costs and damages.
Because of delays caused by having to address this legal action, SRI has had to take the difficult decision to end the employment of its Projects Management Team and sub-contractors (comprising some 37 persons) who were already engaged on the site. This, after months of absorbing a significant wage bill with no work being done, and after the company had already invested in excess of US$6 million in design and site preparation.
This project was to have employed over 1,000 persons during construction and create a further 780 highly trained permanent jobs. We therefore apologise to the many skilled workers, vendors, suppliers and other stakeholders who will be impacted by the suspension of work.
This decision was not taken lightly, and we must commend the efforts of the Government as well as other stakeholders for their tremendous support in trying to make this project happen; we could not have asked for anything more.
We are mindful of the importance of this investment for the people of Saint Lucia, both in terms of the economic impact as well as the new jobs that would have been created; and while remobilization of resources from this point on may take months; Sandals Resorts International stands ready to do so once possible.
