During a recent appearance on his weekly ‘Browne and Browne’ radio program Saturday, Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda has moved to dismiss growing public and political criticism over the newly groundbreaking Long Bay Zen Resort, pushing back hard against claims that the luxury tourism development will block public access to the popular Long Bay Beach.
A core point of contention raised by opponents, including political figure Comrade Knight, centers on assertions that the resort project will seize remaining public beachfront land and close off the coastline to local residents. Browne refuted these claims emphatically, clarifying that the new resort is being constructed exclusively on the footprint of the original Long Bay Hotel, a hospitality site that has operated on the stretch of coast for more than 50 years. Far from being a new encroachment on public coastal lands, he framed the project as a long-planned redevelopment of existing private tourism property.
The project’s timeline dates back more than a decade, Browne explained. Developers acquired the former hotel property roughly 11 years ago, with initial plans for a much larger buildout. The initiative faced a major setback when investors lost tens of millions of dollars deposited in an offshore bank that collapsed into financial distress, pushing back construction for years. Despite the major financial hit, Browne noted that the development consortium remained committed to moving the project forward, bringing the long-delayed initiative to the groundbreaking stage this year.
Browne also addressed lingering controversy surrounding a one-acre beachfront plot that was previously owned by his son, a point critics have flagged as a potential conflict of interest. He laid out the full history of the parcel, explaining that it first entered the market when the prior owner of the Long Bay Hotel, Chris LaFourie, sold it in 2014. A previous plan under the former United Progressive Party (UPP) administration had proposed acquiring this plot as part of an earlier hotel expansion, a move that Browne’s Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) opposed at the time out of concern that it would reduce public beach access for local residents.
That earlier proposal ultimately fell through, and the parcel was returned to the open market, where multiple private buyers expressed interest. Browne confirmed that his son purchased the one-acre plot for $750,000 in a private transaction, before later selling it to the Chinese development group behind the Long Bay Zen Resort for $1.5 million. The prime minister emphasized that the entire deal was a straightforward transaction between two private entities, with no improper access to public land or policy favors involved.
The luxury Long Bay Zen Resort, which recently held its groundbreaking ceremony on Antigua’s eastern coast, is designed to include 120 guest rooms as a high-end tourism destination aimed at boosting the island nation’s hospitality sector. Browne’s comments come as part of ongoing efforts to build public trust and address misinformation surrounding the project ahead of its continued development.