Chalk
up another development on St. Lucia, the island that currently is
leading the Caribbean pack in terms of new builds, rebuilds and
resort expansions.
Island Global
Yachting, a firm that owns, develops and manages marina properties
and yachting destinations, will redevelop its Rodney Bay Marina in
St. Lucia.
Slated for completion
in late 2008, the revamped marina will offer 252 reconstructed
slips, including the addition of 30 berths dedicated to megayachts,
and a refurbished land component with retail and restaurant
facilities.
The existing marina
will remain open and operational during the renovation.
Andrew Farkas,
chairman and founder of IGY, said that the Rodney Bay Marina
"already is the leading marina facility in the region and has been
a cornerstone for IGY in the Caribbean. This renovation will
continue to reposition St. Lucia as a major megayacht destination
and enhance the tourism industry in Rodney Bay by serving as a port
of embarkation to the southern Caribbean."
Megayachts departing
St. Lucia from the marina will cruise through the southern islands
towards Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and
Trinidad and Tobago, according to Cuthbert Didier, general manager
of the marina.
"Prior to this
redevelopment, there were no first-class marina ports in the
southern Caribbean which cater to the megayacht industry," Didier
said.
The Rodney Bay Marina
was established in 1986 by Arch Marez, a California-based
entrepreneur who died in 2005.
For further
information, visit www.igy-rodneybay.com.
To contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail
to Gay Nagle Myers at [email protected].