Prime Minister Perry Christie said last night in a live television broadcast that he was overjoyed at the ”unprecedented one billion expansion development” announced by Kerzner International.
This brings Kerzner’s total investment in the Bahamas to an unprecedented two billion dollars.
The announcement of their Phase Three expansion is the largest single tourism development ever to be announced in the Bahamas.
The billion dollar development is to include:
* A new 1500-room hotel
* A water theme park
* A Marina Village at the Atlantis Marina designed to resemble a Bahamian village featuring 22 retail stores, four new restaurants, including the recreation of the legendary Cafe Martinique.
* Two additional phases at the timeshare resort, Harbourside at Atlantis, a world class convention centre with 200,000 square feet and the largest ballroom in the Caribean.
The Phase Three expansion is expected to create three thousand construction jobs – 200 directly and 1000 indirectly and 4500 permanent jobs – 3000 directly and 1500 indirectly.
The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to increase to $320 million dollars by 2008, and over 15 years it should reach $6 billion, bringing an annual addition to the Bahamian economy of at least five per cent.
Source: Cara Brennen, The Tribune
