Businessman Derek Chin has grand plans to spend close to $1 billion to expand the MovieTowne cineplex and entertainment centre located at Audrey Jeffers Highway, Port-of-Spain. A marina, hotel and condominiums, sport and cultural wax museums (for steelband, king and queen of Carnival, Brian Lara, Dwight Yorke and politicians) would form The Gateway Project—the third and final phase of MovieTowne. Chin hoped that the massive development would be a joint public-private venture with the People's Partnership Government. Chin believes the completed project would revolutionise the capital city.
Phases one and two were the ten-studio Hollywood-themed cineplex and the Fiesta Plaza themed after New Orleans in the United States. To complete his dream, Chin had to secure the approval from the State to acquire 40 of the 80 acres of reclaimed land—estimated to be the size of King George V Park—behind MovieTowne. In an interview, Chin said access to these facilities would be through the Streets of the World with thoroughfares themed after famous city blocks in countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, England, China, India and a popular Middle Eastern country yet to be decided, with shops that capture the aesthetics and essences synonymous with these locations. There are also plans for a bowling alley, an aquarium, cultural centre and a 3D cinema. The 3D cinema experience had been in testing for the past two weeks and was expected to officially begin this week. No developer had been named for the Gateway Project and no timelime for completion of the development could be given.
Chin said he hopes the Government would allow him use of the land as he intends to "take T&T into the 21st century with the project. "It would be a whole new tourists attraction: A whole place for the people of T&T to enjoy. It would have things to make people live, not just on weekends. "Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Finance Minister Winston Dookeran know about it. It's just for them now to lease me the land. "I have proved myself with what I have developed here. MovieTowne is a brand that is lovely. Everybody loves it. This project will now take the country to another level. "It's employment, development, economic development, construction all in one. "I think if I get that going, people would not want to leave T&T." Admitting that the cost attached to project was exorbitant, Chin said an injection of taxpayers' funds would not be too exorbitant.
He said the museum, marina, cultural centre and sea aquarium should be of particular interest to the Government, citing their tourism-related components and benefits. Under the plan for private sector funding, Chin would seek a loan for an initial $600 million. To do that, Chin intends to pre-sell spaces. He estimates that the space would accommodate 200 tenants with more than $3 million in rent monthly. "MovieTowne is a brand name. It's no longer a difficult sell. Businesses will take leases for five or ten years and make a downpayment. They will give me downpayments and leases, which I would take to the bank for a loan." Chin's thrusts to expand MovieTowne came seven years after realising the original dream of a cineplex, which started off at a cost of $40 million, but climbed to $106 million when Fiesta Plaza and PriceSmart were included.
"Today, the structure is said to be worth $700-$800 million. I would not entertain anything less than that. "When we add on Chaguanas and Tobago (MovieTowne), it's close to $1 billion." Chin said it was his experiences and encounters at MovieTowne over the past seven years which led to his vision for the Gateway Project. He said he's responding to the needs of the people like he'd done many times before. "They wanted proper security, proper parking a feeling of family. This is different from the rest of the country. "My philosophy is good service. How I would like to be treated and my staff is how we treat our customers. "The idea was to create a First World environment that people would start to appreciate and don't mind paying $45 to see a movie.
"My staff understand the philosophy of what good service is. A lot of my staff who started with me are still with me. They have seen that their boss is not fooling them. The country is glad to have a place like this. A lot of tourists come here, a lot of visitors come here and they are overwhelmed, saying that it's better than what they have in their own country." As Chin and his management team awaits approval from the State for access to land at Invader's Bay, something else holds their interest. Having established MovieTowne as a premier entertainment facility in the region, they are now looking to celebrate their millionth customer. Figures released show that close to 900,000 people came to MovieTowne, Port-of-Spain, in 2009. "Everything that happens in T&T happens at MovieTowne. If you go back to 2001, there was no T&T Film Company. There was no T&T Film Festival. The movie industry is very dynamic. It sell itself. What we did not do was make it fall apart. We maintained it. People come in and say it's First World."
By: Sean Nero
Via: Trinidad Guardian