Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 06, 2017 (SKNIS): The Republic of China (Taiwan), through its Resident Ambassador in St. Kitts and Nevis, His Excellency George Gow Wei Chiou, pledged his Government’s support to the Minister of Agriculture et al., the Honourable Eugene Hamilton, for the Eco-Park Maintenance Project over the next two years.
The maintenance project is estimated to cost approximately US$700,000 and will be jointly funded by the Taiwanese and the St. Kitts and Nevis Government. The funds will be used towards increasing the agricultural output, marketing and promotion, and maintaining and managing the park’s landscape.
The official signing of the agreement and check handing over ceremony was held recently at Minister Hamilton’s office.
He thanked Ambassador Chiou for his country’s continued assistance to the federation by stating that he is “grateful” for the consideration given to the request for the support in growing the Eco Park into a more “viable entity beyond 2018.”
He stated that the Eco-Park has the potential to be “one of St. Kitts and Nevis’ most sought after tourist destinations,” while noting that the strategic plan for the project is a collaboration between the Taiwanese Government, Ministry of Agriculture, and Ministry of Tourism.
The Minister expressed that one of the project goals is for the park to be “self-sufficient” by the end of the two years.
The park will be made more aesthetically appealing, its offerings of agricultural products for sale (fruits, vegetables and flowers) will be expanded, a website and social media pages for the park will be created and maintained, promotion campaigns will be executed to increase the percentage of visitors to the park, and partnerships with local travel agencies will be formed to help attract more visitors to the site.
The Eco-Park maintenance project was launched in January 2017 and is slated to be completed by December 31, 2018. It designed to make the facility a multi-functioning park that will include components of tourism, agriculture and education in order to increase its revenue stream.
The Eco-Park is an Agro-Tourism facility jointly created by the Governments of Taiwan and St. Kitts and Nevis and has become a well-known tourist attraction.
