Is Radisson staying away from St Kitts like Ritz-Carlton and Six Senses?

The 246-room T-Loft project under construction at St. Kitts' Frigate Bay since 2014, may not carry the internationally-known Radisson name brand.

The word Radisson at the bottom of the billboard promoting the T-Loft project, under construction on the nearby hillside, was recently covered by tape. No reason has been given or known for the covering of the name Radisson.

Ground breaking for the estimated US$40 million (EC$108 million) project took place in December 2013 and was one of several resort developments including the Park Hyatt St Kitts, Imperial Bay Golf and Beach Residences, Koi Resorts, Golden Rock Commercial Park, Silver Reef, Kittitian Hill (Bell Monte Farm), Monte Bello, Rendezvous Hill, Ocean Terrace Inn, Christophe Harbour Marina, the St Kitts Castle, Manor by the Sea, Embassy Suites and Ramada, which were either already under construction, expansion and renovation or about to begin construction. Those projects were attracted to St. Kitts and Nevis by the then St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) Federal administration of Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr Denzil L Douglas.

Since prime minister Harris took office in February 2015, work on the T-Loft project stopped and re-started although at a slower pace.

Over the past four years, Dr Harris has not only mismanaged a robust Citizenship by Investment Programme - now rocked by endless scandals - but has been presiding over a decelerating and shrinking national economy. In 2013, the GDP was 5.5 percent and in 2014, 6.1 percent. The GDP has decelerated or slipped to 2.2 percent in 2015; 2.3 percent in 2016; 1.2 percent in 2017 and a projected 2.5 percent for 2018.

In February 2018, Prime Minister Harris announced that a Ritz-Carlton Hotel will begin construction in September 2018 and open in 2021 on the Southeast Peninsula and a Six Senses Resort will also begin construction in September 2018 at La Valle in Sandy Point.

Dr Harris said at the time that the two five star resorts would have employed close to 800 Kittitians and Nevisians. However, no construction has begun on the Ritz-Carlton or the Six Senses resorts and the prime minister remains tight-lipped on both projects and other important national developments.