Jamaica’s first ever casinos to break ground this year

Montego BayHarmony Cove, a partnership of government-backed Harmonisation Limited and global investment firm Tavistock Group, last week revealed a budget revision for the first phase of the project to $1bn. Located near Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, the oceanfront resort will be built on a 2,300-acre site and according to the company, will integrate into the area.

Phase one of Harmony Cove is expected to feature 1,000 hotel rooms, villas, a championship golf course, restaurants, a waterpark, convention space, as well as a full service casino and sports book that will occupy 75,000sqft of dedicated gaming space. The complete project plans to house a total of 5,000 hotel rooms, in addition to a wealth of new amenities.

The Jamaican Government is expected to announce new financial arrangements for the 49pc state-owned Harmony Cove, which is expected to include a new Chinese investor. Executive director of Harmonisation Limited, Dr Lorna Simmonds, noted the “key stakeholders have been secured and we are in various stages of completing the financing.”

Celebration Jamaica Development held its launch ceremony last week and confirmed construction is due to start this year. Built on 90 acres in Rose Hall, the greater Montego Bay area, Celebration Jamaica Resort & Casino will be rolled out in several phases. The company plans on spending $500m on Phase one, to open 1,000 hotel rooms and world-class casino.

Another 1,000 hotel rooms will be added over subsequent phases, along with a state-of-the-art music studio, a 1,200-seat theatre and banquet hall, bringing the total investment to almost $1.8bn. Celebration Jamaica founder Robert Trotta said the project would aim at “celebrating all things Jamaican and Jamaican music in particular.”

Harmony Cove and Celebration Jamaica were the only two bidders to qualify for provisional approval of Integrated Resort Development orders, following passage of the Casino Gaming Regulations adopted in 2012. Each resort requires a minimum of 2,000 hotel rooms in two phases and the casino can only become operational after building the first 1,000 rooms.