DACOSTA
THE JAMAICA Chamber of Commerce (JCC) said yesterday it was alarmed and concerned that a judge found it necessary to set aside a licence granted by the National Resource Conservation Authority for the con-struction of the Bahiá Príncipe hotel.
The licence was granted on the advice of the National Environment and Planning Agency, for the building of the hotel by the Piñero Group.
"We sympathise with the Piñero Group which, having already spent in excess of US$50 million, in good faith, now faces the prospect of having its Bahiá Príncipe project halted at this late stage, through no fault of its own," JCC President Noel DaCosta said in a statement yesterday. "Investments will only flourish in an environment characterised by predictability and such a development could well cause the economy to lose existing proposed and future investment that the country so desperately needs."
Mr. DaCosta said the JCC had an interest in the issue since, through its 'Legislation, Regulation and Process Improvement' project, it had been seeking ways to improve the development process in the country and to shorten the time taken to deal with the various types of development applications.
He added that the JCC is currently assisting in the preparation of a Development and Investment Manual for Jamaica, which is nearing completion.
"The JCC calls on the Government to carry out a thorough review of the development process, so that appropriate steps can be taken to restore the now damaged investor confidence arising from this incident," he said.
