BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, August 23, 2017 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Local and foreign investors continue to show renewed confidence in St. Kitts and Nevis’ economy, evident by the historic job figures reported by the Social Security Board and new projects and developments being undertaken in the Federation.
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Chief among these new developments, according to Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, is the construction of the first hotel at Port Zante.
“An 18-room hotel is now under construction next to the Pavilion Supermarket—18 rooms and three offices for commercial work, and work has already started,” the Prime Minister said during the August 11, 2017, sitting of the National Assembly.
Prime Minister Harris said this new development, coupled with the work being done at Park Hyatt St. Kitts Christophe Harbour where over 800 persons were employed during the construction phase and another 288 residents expected to be permanently employed when the hotel opens on November 1, 2017, is a clear indication that something good is happening in St. Kitts and Nevis under his Team Unity-led Government.
The Finance Minister further stated that “every year, under Team Unity, we have had positive growth. We know the economy is growing when Social Security tells us ‘you are doing well; you have the highest record of contributors in its history’—over 29,000 persons as contributors.”
Regional and international financial institutions have recently commended St. Kitts and Nevis on its strong fiscal and economic management policies.
In its 2017 Article IV consultation on the St. Kitts and Nevis economy, the International Monetary Fund said “notwithstanding a difficult international environment, St. Kitts and Nevis’ economy is expected to grow again in 2017 for the 5th consecutive year.”
It went on to say that St. Kitts and Nevis’ strong macroeconomic performance owed “much to the robust Citizenship-by-Investment (CBI) inflows and their spillovers to the economy, as well as overall prudent macroeconomic policies.”
It was also reported that the federation’s public debt was projected to reach the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) debt-to-GDP target in 2018, 12 years ahead of schedule as the ECCU’s debt target of 60 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is set for 2030.
