Plans for mega-resort Harmony Cove still on track says Harmonisation Board

Dr. Lorna Simmonds, CEO of Harmonisation Group Limited says that the organisation is currently focused on asset management. The company continues to make losses but expects Phase one of the Harmony Cove development to break ground in 2025.


Harmonisation Limited is wholly owned by the Government of Jamaica, jointly through the
Development Bank of Jamaica and the National Housing Trust. With Jeffery Hall as Chairman, the company’s mandate is the long-term capital development of the Harmony Cove property. The company is also the owner of its subsidiary Silver Sands Estates Limited with properties at Silver Sands in Duncans, Trelawny.

The main project under consideration, Harmony Cove Limited, is expected to be a high-end integrated resort development with multiple lodging and amenity options. Construction activity for the first phase of the project is slated to commence in 2025, and will comprise 1,000 hotel rooms, a wide range of amenities including sporting activities, restaurants, and retail shops, and a substantial build-out of infrastructure supports.

In the company’s annual report for the period April 2022 to March 2023 Simmonds stated that The Harmony Cove Project is expected to commence construction of phase 1 by 2025,
subject to the finalization of policy relating to incentives and casino gaming, and new equity
participation and loan funding options being pursued through Harmony Cove Limited, the
Joint Venture entity established to develop the project.

The Harmony Cove project is being implemented through a Joint Venture arrangement
between Harmonisation Limited (HL) and the Tavistock Group. The Joint Venture
Agreement (JVA) between the two entities was signed on September 28, 2006.

Dr. Simmonds outlined, “As highlighted in previous reports, several factors have occasioned delays in implementation, and changes in projected implementation schedules.

“Chief among these have been Master Plan changes to suit new developments in the Jamaican tourism market, the effects of the downturn in international financial markets from about 2008, and the resolution of a few critical policy issues, particularly the provision of tax incentives to the

project. More recently the Covid-19 global pandemic as occasioned a slowdown in the pace
of pre-construction activity.”

For the financial year ending March 31, 2023, Harmonisation Limited and its subsidiary
Silver Sands Estates Limited recorded a net loss of ($969.20) million which represents an
increase of 15 per cent loss above the previous year’s ($838.00) million. Total assets were
reported at $2.829 billion consisting mainly of Land and Buildings.

The income earned by the Harmonisation for the year ended March 31, comprises of rental
income earned by its subsidiary Silver Sands Estates Limited and the completion of the sale
of nine Silver Sands lots. The consolidated income stood at $21.23 Million, a decrease of 85
per cent below the previous financial year’s $144.24 Million.

For the period under review, Harmonisation recorded administrative and other operating
costs at $152.08 Million, which was 15 percent decrease below the previous year of $178.98
million.

The company is still in the development stage of the project and so has incurred
development expenditure.

Phase I is expected to be completed three years from the start date of construction.
At full build out the Harmony Cove project will comprise of a variety of more than 2,000
rooms/lodging options and a range of recreational offerings.

Estate Management

Meanwhile, the company continues its routine estate management of the Harmony Cove and Silver
Sands properties. The report outlined, “These efforts have continued to be successful as there
have been no incursions on the properties and the buildings, lands, and beaches and that
all the company’s holdings have continued to be properly secured and maintained in good
condition.

The directors reported that with the completion of the major negotiation points of the proposed Agreement with the Silver Sands Cottage Owners Association (SSCOA), the divestment modalities are now being agreed between Harmonisation Limited and its shareholders, DBJ and NHT.

The internal approvals process has been ongoing, and with the requisite approvals in place
the divestment process began with the sale of several vacant lots at Silver Sands. This
process will be continued.

Harmonisation Limited’s asset base reduced by $0.036 million from $2.865 billion the
previous year to $2.829 billion as at March 31, 2023. Harmonisation Limited is solely funded by its shareholders companies The National Housing Trust and The Development Bank of Jamaica Limited. In the period in review the shareholders advance was a total of $95.15 million.

Photograph: Harmonisation Chairman Jeffery Hall.

 Caribbean Money Daily

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