Canadian group signs first golf deal

Canadian group signs first golf deal

A consortium of Indian tribes from Canada led by Mark Entwistle, a
former Canadian ambassador in Havana, signed an agreement with the Cuban
government to build a $410 million golf course community at
Guardalavaca, the New York Times first reported.

The group, Ottawa-based Standing Feather International Inc., signed a
memorandum of agreement in April and expects to break ground in
September, according to the Times. Standing Feather is partnering with
state company Palmares S.A. in the Cuba-Kanata Golf SA joint venture.

The $410 million Loma Linda Golf Estates in eastern Holguín province is
the first of four golf course condominium projects expected to be
approved by the Cuban government.

Due to its location, the project stands out from three competing golf
projects closer to Havana and Cuba's No. 1 beach resort, Varadero (see
map). Loma Linda is located in the eastern part of the island, an hour's
drive from Cuba's third-largest airport, the Frank Pais International
Airport in Holguín with nearly 50 international flights per week. The
project, adjacent to an existing beach resort at Guardalavaca, is four
miles from the deep-water port and international yachting marina of
Puerto de Vita.

The 520-acre site is anchored by the Loma Linda hill and has direct
access to Playa Guardalavaca. An undisclosed number of luxury villas
and apartments aside, the project will be anchored by an 18-hole golf
course, commercial center, and a 170-room boutique hotel.

Loma Linda was designed by Graham Cooke & Associates of Montreal.

A British group wants to build a golf resort in Varadero, another
Canadian group is planning one in Jibacoa, half-way between Varadero and
Havana, and a Spanish group has a golf project at Bahía Honda, west of
Havana.

A fifth group, also from Spain, announced it is negotiating construction
of what would be the island's by far largest golf and marina resort on
the Guanahacabibes peninsula, the western tip of the island.

http://www.cubastandard.com/2011/05/25/canadian-group-signs-first-deal-for-golf-project/