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  • 1 year ago
Over Twenty-nine million dollars has been spent to refurbish the Manta Lodge & Dive Centre in Speyside Tobago. This from Chief Secretary Farley Augustine during Monday's official reopening ceremony. Elizabeth Williams has this report.

Transcript
00:00When we look at the fact that we spent just about $29 million in total to renovate this
00:10property, and that doesn't count what was spent to purchase the property, it means that
00:18on average for 20 rooms, $1.4 million was spent per room.
00:26Chief Secretary Fahli Agustin, who led the ribbon-cutting ceremony, said the present
00:31THA inherited a bad investment.
00:34And I'll be the first to acknowledge, perhaps it was not the best investment decision to
00:40purchase the hotel in the first place.
00:43But we fixed it, we finished it, we delivered it to the people of Tobago, and we are saying
00:49this is an opportunity to earn from it.
00:52Nestled in the serene village of Speyside, Tobago, the Mantel Lodge is a luxurious 20-room
00:58hotel offering elegantly appointed accommodation, each featuring a private balcony with breathtaking
01:06views of the Caribbean Sea.
01:08The hotel also boasts an in-house PDI-approved dive shop and training center, and is part
01:16of the esteemed Ascend Hotel Collection.
01:19While I was there in New York, one of my tasks was to sit with the Elephant Tree owners
01:26and to be part of negotiations to help them attract an international brand for the Elephant
01:33Tree.
01:34And I'm happy to tell you that within a week or so, we'll be able to publicly announce,
01:40because we do have an end date, and as soon as that end date has expired, we'll be able
01:47to publicly announce the return of a mega-hotel brand that will be branding that very Elephant
01:55Tree, which means that in East Tobago, we will have two international brands.
02:03Augustine said the hotel is being managed by the Eco-Industrial Development Company
02:08of Tobago, EDCOT Ltd.
02:11It was the Executive Council's wish that we will find a private operator to take on
02:17the operation of the hotel.
02:20And after putting it out to tender, I'm advised that none of those who placed bids passed
02:27the technical stage of the tender operation.
02:32And so we took a decision as an executive to vest this property in EIDCOT and allow
02:39EIDCOT to manage and to operate this facility.
02:44The establishment officially opened on Monday.
02:47Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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