Bahamas Approves Expansion of Atlantis

By ROGAN M. SMITH
Associated Press Writer
NASSAU, Bahamas AP) – An island resort that bills itself as the largest of its kind is about to grow even bigger.

A U.S.-based developer signed a deal with the Bahamas' government Monday clearing the way for a $600 million expansion of the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island, which already has more than 2,300 rooms.

When the work is done, the resort is to have 3,500 rooms and employ at least 8,000 people.

Prime Minister Perry Christie, who signed the agreement pledging airport improvements and other concessions, said the impact on the economy will be "enormous and far-reaching."

The expansion of Atlantis will increase the total investment of Kerzner International Ltd. to US$1.7 billion, the company said.

Work on the expansion is expected to start before the end of the year be completed by 2007.

The resort already features three interconnected towers and a 7-acre swimming lagoon.

In addition to the new rooms, the resort plans 20,000 square feet of new retail space, 50,000 square feet of convention facilities, four new restaurants, an expanded water park with a new swim-with-dolphins attraction and 120 new timeshare suites along Nassau Harbor.

"The scale of what we have been negotiating over the past several months for our company is extraordinarily historic and clearly demonstrates that we have confidence in the Bahamas," said Butch Kerzner, president of Kerzner International.

The company, which lists its main office in Plantation, Florida, is choosing to expand as much of the Caribbean struggles to win back tourist business following a downturn prompted by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq.

"Booking patterns have now returned to normal levels following the end of this war," Kerzner said in a written statement.

The government has agreed to operate fire and ambulance facilities on Paradise Island, located just off the capital of Nassau.

The Bahamas also agreed to extend casino tax concessions that the company already enjoys for 11 more years, and to exempt construction materials from some import duties.

Kerzner International, which develops and operates casinos and hotels, currently manages nine resort hotels in Mexico, the Maldives, Dubai, Mauritius and the Bahamas.