A number of new investment projects are expected to materialize within the coming months, including the $500 million expansion of the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, according to Minister of Financial Services and Investments Allyson Maynard-Gibson.
Minister Gibson also revealed that her government has been able to attract $150 million in new investments.
It was last November at his party’s convention when Prime Minister Perry Christie announced a number of important investments that were in the works.
At that time, Mr. Christie reported to delegates that the economic prospects for the country were encouraging when measured in the context of the numerous and impressive range of investment and development projects that are either already underway or now receiving the active consideration of the government.
Among those projects he mentioned were the planned expansion of the Atlantis Resort; a $35 million project for Crooked Island at Pitts Town; a $50 million 250-room hotel and 150-slip marina for Morgan’s Bluff, North Andros, and $762 million in new resort investment in Exuma.
Minister Gibson said last night that unemployment in Exuma is now virtually non-existent. “Anybody who wants to work in Exuma can get a job,” she said.
Minister Gibson said the government is also working on a Heads of Agreement for a new project in Winding Bay, Abaco for the establishment of an internationally renowned private members’ golf club with affiliated Five Star facilities in Scotland and the United States.
This $140 million development will comprise a 20 room Club House; 75 Condominium Units; and 50 Luxury Residential Lots. Mr. Christie had said the project would create 310 jobs.
Last week, Minister Gibson and Prime Minister Christie were present for the signing of the Heads of Agreement for the $70 million East End, Grand Bahama project.
Mr. Christie promised that despite the global economic uncertainties that have been fueled by war in Iraq, his government will soon be announcing additional projects to come on stream within the coming months.
“There are further investments in Exuma; there are investments in Abaco; there are further investments in Grand Bahama of an extraordinary nature; there are investments in Rum Cay; there are investments in Crooked Island and these are matters you can look forward to virtually in the immediate future,” Mr. Christie promised.
While construction on Atlantis Phase III is expected to begin late this year, the major project in Exuma, the Emerald Bay Resort, continues to face delays. According to one resort official, the project, which was originally planned for a March opening, has been pushed back to October.
Minister Gibson said the postponement is as a result of “normal construction delays.” She said while the government appreciates the major investments like the Atlantis Resort, it also recognizes the importance of smaller projects spearheaded by Bahamians.
While some of the projects that will soon materialize started under the former administration, Minister Gibson sees it as commendable that in the past year, the PLP Government has been able to attract at least $150 million in new projects.
“These projects are primarily what I would call mid and small investments that tend to be joint ventures between Bahamians and non-Bahamians and I am especially pleased about these because they’re the projects that really strengthen an economy and carry us through the slumps in the world economic scene,” she told the Bahama Journal. “And also, they’re immune to situations where there is total non-Bahamian involvement and they can sell and move.”
While some officials, like State Minister for Finance James Smith, have pointed out that war tends to make potential investors nervous and edgy, Minister Gibson said the government is confident that major investments will still move ahead.
“Obviously people are concerned about the war in Iraq,” she said. “But many have said ‘look, we know that the war is going to be over eventually. We also know that the world economy, which was in recession before the war started, is going to turn around and we want to use this opportunity to construct so that when those two situations are over and there is an emergence, we’ll be ready to occupy our properties.’ So, I am very, very, gratified by that.”
Prime Minister Perry Christie said a tremendous challenge facing his government is finding the capital to put in place the necessary infrastructure to accommodate new projects.
By Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
