Public meetings about the St George’s hotel project will be held this year, according to the Bermuda Government.

Responding to questions by Progressive Labour Party backbencher Zane DeSilva, Grant Gibbons, the Acting Minister of Tourism, told the House of Assembly that the developer, Desarrollos Hotelco Group, and the Government intended to host public meetings in the second or third quarter.

The Government has previously stated that they expected the project to break ground later this year.

Meanwhile, Dr Gibbons said that since December 1, 2013, the Government and the BTA had paid $437,818.18 to the Hemisphere Group, a Miami-based international real estate advisory firm that has been advising on the St George’s hotel project.

He was also questioned about the board of the Bermuda Tourism Authority. He said the board had met 24 times since its inception in 2013, and that board members had been paid a total of $229,996 to date.