Mark Titus, Enterprise Reporter

Commercial complexes dominate the landscape of Port Antonio proper, the capital of Portland. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Despite their sojourn in the wilderness of neglect for decades, Port Antonio entrepreneurs are expressing confidence that current developments will catalyse further investment in the resort town.

"Port Antonio is a natural, but there is no development," Gavin Graham tells The Gleaner. "My business has been surviving only because it has been part of this community for the last 25 years.

"If I was to depend on tourists or local visitors to survive, I would be forced to close my doors a long time ago, because while they know that 'Portie' is a wonderful place, nobody wants to wreck their vehicle to come here, so the greatest thing that could happen to us is the North Coast Highway."

In its heyday, Port Antonio was the busiest port in the Caribbean and the second most important town in the country. As the birthplace of tourism and with a thriving banana export market, the parish was poised to become one of the region's leading commercial hubs.

Any possibility was, however, stifled by the failure of governments to capitalise on the town's early promise. Focus on townships such as Negril, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay as premier tourism destinations has caused Portland to suffer a slow, painful demise.

Holistic planning needed

Donald Rhodd, member of parliament for East Portland, where you can find the parish capital, Port Antonio, believes that the lack of appreciation for holistic planning contributed to the town's downfall.

"I think where it all went wrong was that people just thought that they could get by from day to day by just dealing with the immediate, and not looking at the medium and long term," he says.

"There was not a vision then as to how the world, the rest of Jamaica, was moving that we could position ourselves to take advantage of opportunities which would come forward."

Patrick Lee, one of the leading entrepreneurs in the region, says successive governments have blundered in not taking advantage of the town's natural infrastructure. Despite the doom and gloom, even he expects a rebirth once proposed work is complete.

"I think the proposed developments will enhance business in the town," he says, "especially with the improvement of the road network, I do expect that business will improve."

At present, major rehabilitation roadwork is being carried out from Ocho Rios to Port Antonio. The North Coast Highway project involves the reconstruction of the existing road alignment, curve flattening, repair of old bridges and the construction of new roads and improved drainage systems.

Lanza Edwards, another long-standing business operator, says even without other important developments, improved roads would open up a whole new world of possibilities.

"Tour operators throughout Jamaica know about the reputation of Port Antonio as a tourist destination, but have been discouraged by the poor road surface, but we can now look for bigger and better things," he says.

Creating employment

"A number of our young people have graduated from our high schools, but still cannot get any employment. But, with the kind of plans that are being placed on the table, we expect that there will be an improvement in that area as well," he continues.

Hometown billionaire Michael Lee Chin has led the drive to restore the 'forgotten jewel of the Caribbean' by purchasing the luxurious Trident Villas and Hotel, which is being refurbished to the tune of US$15 million (J$1.08 billion), as well as Blue Lagoon.

Lee Chin partnered with the Port Authority of Jamaica to develop the picturesque Navy Island, as well as rebuild the Titchfield Hotel (the first to cater to tourists in Jamaica) which was gutted by fire in the 1960s.

This will complement the underutilised Errol Flynn Marina, which was opened in 2002. The transformation of the Titchfield peninsula is also big on Lee Chin's agenda and he is determined to preserve the remnants of Georgian architecture there.

To complement this development, a new water and sewerage system will be needed. According to Rhodd, plans are advanced.

"A study was done which recognises that there is going to be tremendous new needs for new wells and a larger drainage and sewerage system and we are now in the process of constructing these facilities," says Rhodd.

Positives of new highway

Dale Westin, general manager of the Errol Flynn Marina, says the completion of Segment Three of the North Coast Highway would have spin-off positives, but he would also love to see the rehabilitation of the Ken Jones Aerodrome.

"The aerodrome would be even better, because a number of the owners of yachts that have expressed interest in coming here also own private jets and to ask them to take the three-hour trip from Kingston is a big negative for us," he tells The Gleaner. "But I do expect that activity at the marina will increase," he adds.

The acquisition of the 99-room Dragon Bay Hotel by the Gordon Butch Stewart-owned Sandals Resorts International and its prospective conversion into a spa resort is another development that the business community expects to have linkages.

However, Dexter Roland, former deputy mayor and councillor for the Port Antonio division, says while anticipation was high among a large section of the business community, those who had taken the wait-and-see approach needed to get on-board in the early stages of development.

mark.titus@gleanerjm.com