Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham says construction would also provide 200 temporary positions.

Ingraham says the resort will include a hotel, golf course, casino and possibly a marina.

Hotels have made hundreds of layoffs as occupancy rates fell. The Atlantis resort, the island's largest private employer, cut 10 per cent of its workforce last year.

A Southworth Develop-ment LLC official says the economy will improve by the time the PGA project nears completion. David Southworth says he knows the crisis is making investors wary of big projects.

The PGA broke ground last week.

- AP