DDL breaks ground on new facility expansion in St Kitts & Nevis

Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) officially held a ground-breaking ceremony for a major new facility expansion in St Kitts and Nevis on Thursday. The ceremony followed an official high-level meeting at Government Headquarters between St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister (PM) Dr Terrance M Drew, senior leadership from DDL and representatives from Guyana’s BK Group of Companies.
“The investment is especially significant because it speaks to a larger Caribbean ambition. DDL is a distinguished CARICOM enterprise, headquartered in Guyana, investing and expanding within another CARICOM member state. This is the regional integration impact. For decades we have spoken about a Caribbean single market economy, about the movement of capital, the expansion of regional trade and the need to build stronger Caribbean enterprises. Projects such as this demonstrate vision and demonstrate what that vision looks like when translated from policy into productive economic activity. We must increasingly create the Caribbean in which the Caribbean capital can move confidently across the Caribbean, all for our benefit. We therefore, in St Kitts and Nevis, welcome this investment.”

The PM explained that the expansion forms part of the overarching goal of economic diversification and sustainability. “For us, sustainability is not limited to renewable energy or environmental protection. It is a comprehensive development philosophy. It requires us to build an economy that is diversified, productive, resilient and capable of creating meaningful opportunities for all people. Small Island Developing States like ours cannot build resilient economies by remaining overwhelmingly dependent upon a narrow range of economic activities. We must manufacture more; we must add greater value locally; we must expand our export capacity, as was mentioned by the Chairman. We must earn more foreign exchange, as he also mentioned, and we must create products and services capable of competing successfully within CARICOM and across the international market space. The investment by DDL advances precisely that objective.”
On the side-lines, speaking with WINN FM, the PM emphasised the importance of the expansion.

“I feel very positive about this investment. This is a significant investment. We’re going to make St Kitts and Nevis the northern Caribbean hub for DDL, and this speaks to the collaboration between us and Guyana. It also speaks to the confidence that investors have in St Kitts and Nevis to make us the hub for significant CARICOM companies. It says a lot about what we have to offer in St Kitts and Nevis. This will create jobs at different levels, directly and indirectly, so we know that this will have a tremendous impact. We heard one thing tonight, that it will triple the number of persons already who work here, and that is, of course, good for us. It will increase exports and bring in more foreign exchange, things that will impact our economy in many different ways. So I’m very, very happy.”
The new facility will significantly expand Demerara Distillers’ manufacturing presence in the Federation. It incorporates a new packaging line designed to scale up production of value-added regional products, with a focus on juices and milk.
Group Chairman Komal Samaroo noted that this expansion aligns with the wider Caribbean “25 by 25” food security initiative spearheaded by Guyanese President Irfaan Ali. Samaroo also suggested that the facility will be used to export products to neighbouring islands. “So we hope that with this facility, we could ship products from Guyana into St Kitts and supply them to other islands that are nearby. So this becomes our export hub. I think that’s a very important integration of our operation that helps both Guyana and St Kitts.”
The project targets the development of value-added food security, primary agricultural processing, and specialised local expertise. Alongside manufacturing, the parent company, DDL, plans to invest in enhanced localised staff amenities, including a dedicated medical centre and expanded professional training tracks.
“Its significance, however, cannot be measured only in buildings, machinery and production, because the ultimate measure of development must always be its impact, its impact on people. We therefore look forward to the employment that was mentioned, that we need to be created, the skills that will be developed, the careers that will be built, and the opportunities that will emerge for our contractors, suppliers, entrepreneurs and all other enterprises.” Demerara Distillers (St Kitts and Nevis) Limited has been operating within the Federation since 1996. Over the last three decades, it has evolved into one of the country’s primary manufacturers and regional distributors of premium beverages and spirits. (St Kitts and Nevis-WINN)