The Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda has approved a public-private partnership to develop a beachfront hotel at Yepton's, with the government committing up to EC$40 million as part of a broader push to increase local ownership in the country's tourism industry.
Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant announced the decision at Thursday's post-Cabinet media briefing. The proposed development will be built on approximately 15 acres of beachfront land at Yepton's.
The government, together with selected state-owned enterprises and statutory corporations, will invest up to EC$40 million in the project. Local private investors will provide additional financing. Merchant disclosed that one local investor has already committed EC$20 million — a figure he described as a strong vote of confidence in the country's tourism sector. Additional funding will be sourced through the Citizenship by Investment Programme, which the government continues to deploy for strategic national development projects.
"The Cabinet emphasized that increasing local ownership and participation in the tourism industry remains a key policy objective of the government of Antigua and Barbuda," Merchant said.
While tourism remains the country's largest economic sector, the government has signalled its intention to ensure a greater share of the wealth generated by the industry stays within the domestic economy and benefits Antiguans and Barbudans directly.
Merchant said the project is designed to create investment opportunities for local entrepreneurs, professionals, pension funds, statutory corporations and other domestic stakeholders. It is also expected to generate employment during both the construction and operational phases.
Following the briefing, Merchant confirmed that investments made by state-owned enterprises and statutory corporations would become assets of those entities, consistent with previous government-backed tourism investments. He also clarified that the EC$40 million represents only the government's contribution, with the hotel's total financing drawn from a combination of public investment, private capital and Citizenship by Investment funding.
Merchant linked the Yepton's initiative to Cabinet's wider strategy of expanding local participation in tourism development. He noted that similar public-private investment opportunities have already been announced for beachfront lands at Shell Beach and Fort James, all aimed at building nationally owned tourism assets capable of generating long-term economic returns.
