St.maarten – One million Chinese tourists every year, the construction of a 326-room hotel and showroom and 450 apartment suites in Belair at the location of the former Barbaron project will change the landscape of St. Maarten’s economy forever. On September 17, a 30-strong delegation from China will come to St. Maarten for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Belair project. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have struck the jackpot,” Finance Minister Richard Gibson said yesterday at a town hall lecture he hosted at the University of St. Maarten where he announced the Chinese project that could in one go double the size of the local tourist economy.
“The future looks extremely bright,” the minister said. Earlier in his address he revealed that he had been negotiation for the past couple of months, together with Prime Minister William Marlin with representatives of the Chinese private and public sector.
Minister Gibson: “We have struck the jackpot”
