Above: TCI

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Turks and Caicos Islands has signed an agreement with developer Desarrollos Hotelco Group on a $500 million hotel project in the Grace Bay area.

The first of three planned hotels will feature a 400-room, five-star property on a 10.5-acre site adjacent to the Seven Stars Resort.

The MoU also covers Hotelco’s plans for another two luxury resorts with a further 500 guest rooms, also in Grace Bay.

Consulting firm KPMG TCI has been employed to complete a social and economic impact study for the projects.

“This is the best possible vindication of the new Turks and Caicos Inward Investment Policy, management structure and approach to attracting inward investment on the best terms for the taxpayers of the Turks and Caicos,” Governor Ric Todd said Tuesday. “This confirms that major international investors are impressed by the reforms that we have made over the past three years and, despite global economic difficulties, see the Turks and Caicos Islands as a great place in which to invest and to do business.”

Desarrollos Hotelco first visited TCI in March 2011, and has since been in close dialogue with the Turks and Caicos Government Investment Unit.

“We were attracted to TCI because it is a high-end tourism destination with great potential, friendly and welcoming people and an excellent investment climate,” said Pedro Vera of Hotelco. “We look forward to investing in TCI and being a participant in bringing luxury resort brands to these islands.”

The project will be on three parcels, all of which have been acquired by the company.

Desarrollos is based in Venezuela, where it owns three Marriott-managed properties. It also developed a Ritz-Carlton resort on Aruba.

The hotels will not exceed 98 feet in height, the government said.