Antigua's main opposition party has sued to block the sale. A local court ruled in the government's favor late last year, and an appellate court upheld that decision last week. The opposition has yet to announce whether it will appeal to the nation's equivalent of a supreme court.
Labeling the project "the rawest of raw deals," a local newspaper owned by opposition party member Tim Hector recently asserted that the government "is selling . . . its most sensitive ecological area, its most scenic spot left, not even for a string of beads, but for low-paying jobs, where a Malaysian will exploit Antiguan labor."
"Our national patrimony is being alienated and becoming an 'Asian Village,' a settler colony, as it was in the beginning," Hector said.
Developer's Great Expectations
Meantime, developer Tan plans to break ground on Guiana Island on April 24 for a project that he and the Antiguan government insist will boost the island's economy, create 4,000 jobs and make Antigua the premier Caribbean tourist destination after the Bahamas.
"It's a fantastic project," said Valerie Haydon, the British marketing and sales manager for Asian Village Antigua. "It's not a theme park. It's an experience. It's combining all the cultures of the world. It's the only concept of its kind in the world."
The project's first phase includes 100 thatched-roof luxury villas designed to mirror architecture on the Indonesian island of Bali and a 500-room hotel with a Malaysian motif. There's also a Thai-style casino and commercial complex and a professional golf course.
When it is completed in late 1999 or early 2000, Haydon said, Asian Village will generate millions of dollars in new tourism business for Antigua.
Planning Minister Molwyn Joseph, the government's point man on the project, insists that it should make all Antiguans proud: Of all the Caribbean island states, which compete fiercely for American and European tourist dollars, Tan picked theirs.
"To understand the size of this project: This man is going to invest $600 million here. That is equivalent to the gross domestic product for Antigua for an entire year," he said.
"This government has to take advantage of whatever opportunity comes along for the improvement of this country. Tourism now accounts for 70% of our gross domestic product. We have to look into our future. We need to create five-star, up-market facilities, and this project gives us the opportunity to upgrade. It is the catalyst for the future of Antigua."
