Gibraltar is set to have two superyacht marinas, with news of the advancement of a £1.1 billion project to overhaul an area on the east side of the territory..
According to reports in insight magazine the Blue Water project, which will be executed by locally headquartered Camoren Holdings, will comprise a 70-berth superyacht marina, as well as a 175-room 5-star hotel and a waterfront promenade linking Eastern Beach and Catalan Bay.
The application is still at the planning stage, but the inclusion of several social goods, such as a police station and public health centre, have been labelled ‘planning gains’ and it has been suggested by a SuperyachtNews.com source that this will simply be a formality.
Despite an up-front payment from the government of £88 million, the ability to fund such a project is still worthy of scrutiny. Camoren’s chairman, Leslie Allen-Vercoe told the article’s author, Steven Richards, “Given that we already have planning permission, we have a number of funding options, including a large Irish development company with which I have previously worked, an international bank that is involved with another project I am associated with in the British Virgin Islands, and local and UK banks, in particular, in respect of affordable housing.” In a separate interview with Richards, Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo confirmed that the £88 million would be released by September.
An Ocean Village development on the other side of Gibraltar has also recently been approved.
According to reports in insight magazine the Blue Water project, which will be executed by locally headquartered Camoren Holdings, will comprise a 70-berth superyacht marina, as well as a 175-room 5-star hotel and a waterfront promenade linking Eastern Beach and Catalan Bay.
The application is still at the planning stage, but the inclusion of several social goods, such as a police station and public health centre, have been labelled ‘planning gains’ and it has been suggested by a SuperyachtNews.com source that this will simply be a formality.
Despite an up-front payment from the government of £88 million, the ability to fund such a project is still worthy of scrutiny. Camoren’s chairman, Leslie Allen-Vercoe told the article’s author, Steven Richards, “Given that we already have planning permission, we have a number of funding options, including a large Irish development company with which I have previously worked, an international bank that is involved with another project I am associated with in the British Virgin Islands, and local and UK banks, in particular, in respect of affordable housing.” In a separate interview with Richards, Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo confirmed that the £88 million would be released by September.
The proposed development.
The east side was the subject of a superyacht-focused overhaul in 2007 but it never materialised and the government subsequently bought back the land.
SuperyachtNews.com spoke to local industry expert Captain Ed Geary, who as an expert in superyachts and technical advisor to the Ocean Village project, which is taking place on the other side of the peninsula, said that this latest development could only be positive for the British Overseas Territory.
"This is an exciting project that will further enhance and promote the outstanding benefits that Gibraltar has to offer the growing superyacht community", Geary explained. "There's an increasing need for upscale superyacht facilities with a great location at the mouth of the Mediterranean, which not only provide low cost bunkering but has full service facilities provided by skilled technicians in the atmosphere of an English country village."
"This is an exciting project that will further enhance and promote the outstanding benefits that Gibraltar has to offer the growing superyacht community", Geary explained. "There's an increasing need for upscale superyacht facilities with a great location at the mouth of the Mediterranean, which not only provide low cost bunkering but has full service facilities provided by skilled technicians in the atmosphere of an English country village."
An Ocean Village development on the other side of Gibraltar has also recently been approved.
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