Several hundred Anguillians and others on the island took the opportunity of the second open house function at the Flag Temenos Anguilla development to spend most of the holiday marking the Official Birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Second on Monday, June 16.

Some of the estate residences virtually completed

Although it was not possible to actually tour the project, the visit to the construction site was a marvelous occasion for the large number of people who were not aware of the tremendous amount of work already done there and, of course, the work that still remains to be done.

The function was an arrangement between Flag Luxury Properties in association with the Government of Anguilla and Ashtrom (Anguilla) Limited. The project is being operated by Baccarat Hotel and Residences, the first such operator in the Caribbean. The milling crowd, dressed in casual wear, found much welcome relief from the sun under a giant tent where they gathered for a speech-making session and eventually for refreshments served at other nearby tents.

Open Day at Flag Temenos project

Chief Minister, Osbourne Fleming, described the project “as about the largest construction development and about the most expensive in the Eastern Caribbean.” He noted that in addition to workers from Anguilla and the rest of the region there were others from as far as China, Romania, Turkey, Israel, the United States and other parts of the world.

“This project will eventually find employment for a lot of our young people coming out of school,” Mr. Fleming said. “We envision that when it is finished between 600 and 800 jobs will be available here; and so we are trying our best to give the project all the support so that it becomes a reality.”

Smokey and the Boys String Band

Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Victor Banks, said among other things: “We are here today because this particular Flag Luxury project was the project that began everything in Anguilla. This private sector project is responsible for a lot of the interest that we have in Anguilla today. It is an important project in terms of the new phase of development in Anguilla and it is important that we give it the support it requires to make it work.” He noted that the project was being done during a very difficult period affecting the world. He was grateful to the developers, buyers and other persons who were still interested in making the project a reality.

“I want you to know that even though you see a lot of work going on here, the money and supply of money can come to end,” he cautioned. “We need to be productive and pay serious attention to how we conduct ourselves so that we can have something which Anguillians and visitors can be proud of. I am appealing to the workers on this project and the people of this community to be understanding because if a project of this kind fails, it means that we will have a serious lapse not only in the work…but in the confidence in Anguilla in terms of investment.”

Chief Minister, Mrs. Fleming and others in applause

Chief Engineer with Ashtrom, the Israeli construction company, Ronan Arreva, was pleased to have “A United Nations” workforce on the project, a term he used to emphasise the fact that there are workers at the site from all over the world. He was happy with the support of the Government and people of Anguilla and looked forward to steady progress and eventual completion of the work.

Some of the officials and others at Temenos

Flag’s Director of Public Relations, Arnie Hodge, who chaired the proceedings, is one of several Anguillians in managerial and leadership positions at the project and who, according to him, “are working to make the dream happen.” The Anguillian professionals whom he called to speak were Malcolm Webster, an Architect and Manager; Andy Vanburn Brooks, an Architect; and Fritz Smith, one of the Executive Managers at Flag. They all spoke about the scope and complexity of the project and its benefits to the people of Anguilla.

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