National Properties Ltd. Saint Vincent

ISLAND DEVELOPMENTS

Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Hans King, General Manager at National Properties Limited Saint Vincent, about developing hospitality projects, driving economic growth for local Vincentians, and the future of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

At the confluence of the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean lies the small island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are some of the most densely populated in the Caribbean, with more than 110,000 inhabitants distributed across 142m 2 of territory.’.

Incorporated in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2001, National Properties Limited is a state-owned company formed with the intention to harness and optimize the performance of various failed, underperforming, or idle government assets, and to facilitate their commercial privatization. “We’ve been doing this important work ever since we were founded,” says Hans King, General Manager at National Properties Limited. “We operate out of our office in Diamond, on the main island of St Vincent. From there, we’ve spearheaded different types of developments right across the country, across residential, commercial, tourism, and more.”

A NATIONWIDE PRESENCE Since its initial founding, National Properties Limited has established large-scale projects across the width and breadth of Saint Vincent. “We manage the industrial estate at Campden Park, where there are a number of factory shells occupied by different tenants involved in manufacturing,” says Mr. King. “We’ve done land development in the Grenadine island of Bequia, where we’re actively involved in residential developments at the moment. For that, we’ve sub-divided lands, and put in the relevant infrastructure, including roads, cables, electricity, and so on. Recently, we signed a franchise agreement for the construction of a 93-room Holiday Inn Express and Suites project. We’ll be managing and building the hotel, but we’ll be carrying the Holiday Inn brand, and we’ll be required to perform to their standards. For that, we’re looking at a timeline of about two years or so before completion.”

The company has a strong track-record when it comes to leading developments with international partners. “We’re also involved with Marriot, for the construction of a Marriot hotel in an area called Mount Wynn, on the leeward side of Saint Vincent,” says Mr. King. “That project is scheduled to take a little longer: we’re looking at something closer to three years for the construction completion and for the beginning of operations. For both these projects, we’re taking the environment into consideration, integrating energy and water-saving measures in every way possible, and limiting whatever pollution might come out of them. Together, these projects very much fit into the aims and objectives of what National Properties Limited set out to do. The lands that these hotels were built on were already vested in us, and we’re seen as the estate agent to lead that charge, if and when the government is involved in this kind of private-sector business. It’s a natural fit.”

THINKING LOCAL

Each of the National Properties Ltd hotel developments forms part of a long-term strategy to boost employment across Saint Vincent and to strengthen the national economy. “Our hotel projects are actually a very good response to the global situation in the midst of COVID-19,” says Mr. King. “In the absence of tourists, construction is one of the industries that the government is now looking towards in order to drive the economy. As it stands, it’s an industry that people are continuing to work in, albeit with the requirement that they wear masks and observe the recommended guidelines. We know that the construction phase of these hotels is going to create a lot of employment.”

In order to ensure that their work has the greatest benefit, the company has committed to hiring a significant portion of its workforce from within Saint Vincent’s local communities. “We’ll be almost exclusively hiring local labor, at around 98% of the total,” explains Mr. King. “In Saint Vincent, we have a very good workforce in the construction industry. At the peak, we could see as many as 500 people employed between these two hotel projects. On top of that, we’ll then be employing another 300-500 at the operational stage, although we will have to bring in one or two consultants from overseas. Once the hotel is up and running, in the case of Marriot, we’ll have a management agreement which will see people coming from abroad at the top levels, in order to facilitate the management of the hotel. But at the staff level, it will be predominately locals who will be taking up those positions. Of course, two or three years down the line, once the projects have been completed, we also expect to see more employment in tourism. We’ll be looking to the farmers of the country, and to the fisherman, in order to provide the produce, whether it’s fish, meat, or otherwise, in order to supply the hotels with as much as possible once they’re up and running.”

RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT

As the importance of construction projects to Saint Vincent’s economy looks to grow in the medium-term, for the short-term National Properties Ltd has had to adapt to some of the less-welcome consequences of COVID-19. “Our way of working has completely changed during the pandemic,” explains Mr. King. “Land sales have definitely slowed down, and there have been changes in terms of how we operate. We’re having more Zoom meetings and we don’t do as much face-to-face. We also haven’t been able to travel to do promotions of the lands and developments with which we’re currently involved.”

Despite these challenges, the company continues to press ahead with its developments. “We’re anticipating a boom after the pandemic, especially in tourism,” says Mr. King. “I would think that within the next year, with the vaccine rollout, and people getting immunized, we’ll see more people wanting to travel, and a subsequent knockon increase in land sales. Our Marriot and Holiday Inn developments won’t be ready for that time, but we believe that by the time they are ready, there will have been significant growth in the tourism sector relative to where we are now. Otherwise, we’re hoping to have more developments. We have some larger parcels of land – for example, on the island of Bequia – that offer a fantastic opportunity for a major hotel or brand to take up. We’ll also continue to do developments on our own, as and when opportunities come.”