The resort and golf course, which stretches out on some 500 winding acres just outside of Cherokee Sound, Abaco, has already created hundreds of jobs for Abaconains, Mr. de Savary said.
On Monday, the Minister of Financial Services and Investment Allyson Maynard-Gibson and the Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe toured the development, along with other government officials and members of the media.
Mr. de Savary, who is the founder and chairman of the Carnegie Clubs, has been a permanent resident of the Bahamas for nearly 30 years and lives in Abaco.
His reputation, which reportedly began with the first five-star development ever in Cairo, Egypt in 1976, extends to Europe, the United States and Antigua in the Caribbean, according to a release issued to the media.
In 2002, Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle, one of Mr. de Savory’s developments, was ranked by Gold Odyssey as among the top four worldwide golf resorts along with Pebble Beach in the US, Lanai in Hawaii and Gleneagles in Scotland.
Mr. de Savary said that once his project is up and running it will have a huge economic impact.
“From a community economic point of view, I think it’s enormous,” Mr. de Savary said. “I think much more importantly, from a pride and prestige, for all of the local people that would have created it, it’s a huge feather in their cap and I think it would be a great advertisement to the rest of the world that the best job is done in Abaco.”
The Abaco Club development which began last August includes 55 beach front and ocean ridge houses; 75 Bahamian style ocean ridge cottages; 20 guest bedroom suites; holistic European-style spa; a Scottish-style championship ‘tropical linksﾴ 18-hole golf course; a plantation-style clubhouse and logo shop; a golf academy; tennis courts; maintenance buildings and facilities; shops for local franchise; and executive retreat meeting facilities.
Currently there are 260 persons employed at the project site, 247 of whom are Bahamians.
There are 41 local contractors on the site and according to Mr. de Savary, that number is expected to grow to 400 within six to seven weeks.
“Once we are up and going we will employ and train a lot of people and we can move them abroad to our other properties to give them experiences,” he said.
Mr. De Savary described the developments as very sensitive to what is naturally the local environment.
“We are not importing Europe to the Bahamas and we are not bringing Florida to the Bahamas,” he said. “We are going to try to create something that is totally local and take it to the rest of the world. “We are going to show them what is natural in the Bahamas, what is appropriate in an island such as Abaco which is reflective of the character and the environment of this country.”
Mr. de Savary added that access to the Winding Bay Beach will not be denied as a result of this development.
“Nothing will change,” he said. “We certainly promise to respect it (environment) and what we are going to bring here is a true Abaco Bahamian experience to the visitors.”
Minister Maynard-Gibson boast of the almost $11 million spent already on the project.
“We have almost $2 million investment in Abaco since May 2002,” Minster Maynard-Gibson said. “As the Prime Minister said as he spoke at the Convention in November almost $4 million worth of investment are on the drawing board since May 2002.”
She said that The Abaco Club is believed to be in the best interest of Abaco.
Yvette Rolle-Major, The Bahama Journal
