The construction of the Afreximbank African Trade Centre at Jemmotts Lane, St. Michael, on approximately two hectares of land, is expected to cost over BDS $360 million, and bring about 1,000 jobs.

Additionally, the bank has pledged $7 million to be placed in the soon-to-be established Urban Transformation Fund to improve housing in the environs of Jemmotts Lane.

These details were disclosed on Monday during the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the bank’s office block and hotel complex.

Speaking during the ceremony, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley revealed that the Hyatt Hotel will also be contributing BDS $2 million to the fund.

“In addition to the construction of the buildings and the investment of $360 million Barbados dollars, you have put on the table also a commitment, which you discussed with me only today, of $3.5 million US dollars or $7 million Barbados dollars to be placed in the soon to be established Urban Transformation Fund that will allow those who live in the shadows of this site, to be able to have a better life for their families. Urban transformation is not only about buildings, but that is where it must start,” Ms. Mottley stressed.

She also stated that she was “cognisant of the history of the site”, which previously housed the old Geriatric Hospital, built for emancipated slaves and opened in 1844; the old Ministry of Health Complex; and the Ministry of Education, among others.

It is for this reason, the Prime Minister proffered: “My Government stands proud here today to be able to bring into the pantheon of financial institutions in this country, the Afreximbank, not simply as an entity that is leasing a building from somebody for an office but that as someone who is now about to lay roots and foundation in this country, the first outside of the continent of Africa. 

“In so doing, we send the signal that we intend to be able to reclaim our Atlantic destiny in ways that allow us not simply to look north, but to continue to look east, west and south.”

Ms. Mottley stressed that the site, the focal point for tending to “sick bodies” in 1844, would soon be the place for those “who need prosperity in the Americas from this site here in Bridgetown”.

“And I, therefore, Professor Oramah, ask you to accept, on behalf of the Afreximbank, this clear offer of the Government of Barbados to make available this just over two hectares of land, to ensure that an investment that will bring jobs to the people of Barbados…, that will bring foreign exchange…, that will bring investment opportunities to the people of the region….

“This is first and foremost also a trade centre that you so accepted, recognising that the history of the site and the location of the site carries with it so much more than we can ever contain in his speech from this platform,” she contended.

Ms. Mottley gave the assurance that the building’s location within a UNESCO World Heritage Site would be considered during the construction phase of the project, which should take approximately 30 months.

Meanwhile, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah, said the African Trade Centre “underpinned” the delivery of the bank’s expanded ambitions within CARICOM that included improving two-way trade between the region and the African continent.

There were also remarks from the Prime Minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell, and other officials. Spoken Word artiste, Adrian Greene; Dancin’ Africa; and the Hasynesville Youth Club provided the entertainment for the evening’s proceedings. (PR/GIS)