What remains of the Prospect Reef Resort on Tortola. (BVI News photo)
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has indicated that redevelopment work on the long-awaited Prospect Reef Resort could begin in 2026, with the government preparing to move the project to the next stage of review.
Speaking on the government’s *Virgin Islands Voice* programme, Dr Wheatley confirmed that a Cabinet paper will soon be presented to allow the evaluation of proposals from investors interested in redeveloping the derelict property.
“We have a Cabinet paper which will be coming to Cabinet soon, where we will have a number of entities which submitted expressions of interest. The Cabinet paper will approve for them to be able to submit proposals, and then we will have those proposals evaluated, and a successful tenderer will win the job to develop Prospect Reef,” Premier Wheatley stated.
He added that the government hopes to “break ground in 2026” once a suitable developer is selected.
A long-stalled tourism asset
The 32-acre Prospect Reef site, located near Road Town, has remained abandoned for more than a decade. Once a popular resort and training facility, the property was purchased by the government in 2005 for about six million dollars under plans for a public–private redevelopment. Successive administrations have since proposed various partnerships, none of which materialised.
In 2017, then-Premier Dr D Orlando Smith said the government intended to partner with a US developer to create a world-class resort and conference centre. However, those plans were shelved following the hurricanes of that year and later by the 2020 pandemic.
More recently, the Dr Wheatley administration signalled renewed interest in turning the site into a major tourism and hospitality hub to support economic diversification and local job creation.
Next steps
The Premier explained that the next phase will involve assessing the detailed proposals submitted by qualified developers before Cabinet selects the winning bidder.
“We will have those proposals evaluated, and a successful tenderer will win the job to develop Prospect Reef,” he said, noting that the government intends for the process to be transparent and competitive.
The development is expected to complement other tourism-focused projects across the territory, including the ongoing airport expansion plans and the revitalisation of the capital.
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