Amid growing public controversy over the proposed Long Bay Zen Resort in Antigua and Barbuda, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has stepped forward to lay out the full, decades-long ownership and development background of the Long Bay site, pushing back against widespread criticism that misrepresents the project’s footprint and legal standing.
Speaking during his weekly *Browne and Browne* radio broadcast on Saturday, the prime minister emphasized that the new resort is not an unauthorized encroachment on untouched public beach land, as critics have claimed. Instead, it marks a long-delayed redevelopment of the original Long Bay Hotel, a hospitality site that has operated in the area for more than half a century.
To address one of the public’s biggest concerns — restricted access to Long Bay Beach — Browne explicitly refuted rumors that the development would block public entry to the coastline. “For those who are worried that this project will take over Long Bay and cut off ordinary people and other beach users from the shore, that is simply not the case,” he said. “We are only redeveloping the footprint of the old Long Bay Hotel.”
Browne walked through the project’s modern development timeline to clarify delays that have sparked speculation. He explained that the current development group purchased the former hotel site roughly 11 years ago, with initial plans for a much larger construction project. Those plans were derailed unexpectedly when the developers lost tens of millions of dollars deposited in an offshore bank that collapsed into financial insolvency, bringing work to a halt for years.
The prime minister also addressed criticism from opposition groups over the 1-acre beachfront parcel tied to the site, pointing to a surprising parallel with the previous United Progressive Party (UPP) administration. Browne recalled that when the UPP was in power, the party explored a plan to acquire that same waterfront acre as part of its own Long Bay hotel development proposal — a move that Browne’s Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) opposed at the time over concerns that it would shrink public beach access.
“What the UPP planned to do was take that waterfront acre and push ordinary members of the public into a small corner, cutting down their access to the beach,” Browne said. That proposed UPP transaction never ultimately moved forward, and after years of no completed payment, the parcel was re-listed on the open market.
Browne openly acknowledged that his own son purchased the 1-acre parcel from owner LaFourie in 2014, after negotiating the price down from an asking price of roughly US$1.2 million to a final sale price of US$750,000. Several years later, his son sold the parcel to the Chinese investors who are now leading the Long Bay Zen Resort project for US$1.5 million. The prime minister stressed that this was a straightforward private transaction between two independent private parties, with no improper government influence or intervention involved, rejecting claims of political favoritism.
According to Browne, the full timeline of the property confirms that the land has been privately owned and actively listed for development for decades. The current Zen Resort project is entirely contained within the boundaries of the former Long Bay Hotel, he said, and does not encroach on any public beach lands.
Recently, the Long Bay Zen Resort officially broke ground. The project is planned as a low-carbon luxury development, and will include 120 guest rooms when completed.