Above: The Sandals Grenada property (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Sandals Chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart joined a special Cabinet meeting in Grenada this week to present his plans for the former LaSource property.

Stewart, who was joined by Grenada Prime Minister Tillman Thomas, unveiled the hotel chain’s $60 million project, which will include the installation of a sewerage plant, “state-of-the-art” conference facilities and its own laundry.

The project will reportedly hire between 400 and 450 Grenadians at the peak of its expansion.

“We must all embrace the significance of tourism as a pillar of our economic development,” Thomas said. “Those who are directly employed by the industry have their role to play, but every Grenadian must take individual responsibility, if we are able to exploit the full potential of the industry.”

Thomas, a former Tourism Minister, said business and hospitality were “essential ingredients” of the country’s development.

The Sandals project, which was announced in November, will increase the LaSource property’s former stock from 100 to 228 rooms and suites.

It will be called the Sandals LaSource Grenada Resort & Spa.

Approximately 98 percent of the resort’s employees will reportedly be Grenadian.

“We must take measures to ensure an enhanced [tourism] product,” Thomas said. “It’s what will make certain that the industry not just survives but thrives.”

Thomas has called the resort a potential “game-changer” for Grenada.