FREEPORT, Grand Bahama ﾖ An illegal strike at the Freeport Container Port last week has left many people concerned about the damage caused to relations with the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Group.
The group has invested nearly $1.5 billion in Grand Bahama over the last decade.
Now, some people are questioning whether labour unrest could hurt the countryﾴs ability to attract and maintain sound investment projects.
Edward St. George, co-chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, was in Hong Kong prior to Fridayﾴs closure, and is now reportedly working on cushioning the blow caused to Grand Bahama by the shutdown.
Hutchison officials ordered the move after three days of labour unrest.
Workers walked off their jobs last Wednesday in support of their union president John Rolle, who was terminated from the facility.
The company said it has fired those workers and has laid off others due to the loss in business incurred because of the strike.
Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) officials warned that the unrest and the shutdown that ensued jeopardized the industry that is at the centre of the Grand Bahama economy.
The Container Port re-opened with reduced staff Monday to remove its customersﾴ existing shipment containers from the property.
Hutchisonﾴs long-term financial partnership with the Grand Bahama Port Authority began in 1995, and fueled the development of the islandﾴs maritime industry, an industry GBPA officials say is as important to Grand Bahama as tourism is to New Providence and Paradise Island.
Hutchisonﾴs investments are spread over the islandﾴs maritime, tourism, transportation and real estate sectors.
The investment group is also a joint owner of the Grand Bahama International Airport and the Lucayan Harbour. It recently spent over $30 million to build a state-of-the-art terminal at the airport.
The group spent about $14.5 million on dredging enhancements to the Lucayan Harbour this year, enabling the islandﾴs cruise facility to welcome the worldﾴs largest cruise ships.
The islandﾴs maritime sector also includes the Grand Bahama Shipyard, the regionﾴs largest ship repair facility.
The Chinese conglomerate invested $323 million in the construction of the Our Lucaya Resort, Grand Bahamaﾴs largest and newest major resort property.
Hutchison is also part owner of the Grand Bahama Development Company, the subsidiary of the GBPA that manages all the property in the Freeport area.
Through Hutchisonﾴs maritime investment, Grand Bahama has become a major player in the worldwide shipping market, competing against established shipping ports in the Eastern United States and the Caribbean.
According to GBPA officials, the company wanted to use the Bahamas as the central component in its overall business.
But the worldwide shipping business hinges on reliable labour, and Hutchison operates 187 other berths in 17 countries throughout Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas.
Prior to the shutdown, the group planned to construct a multimillion-dollar sea-air business center.
The shipping centre is intended to capitalize off the tax-free incentives in the Port area, thereby creating the opportunity for Grand Bahama to emerge as the regionﾴs foremost packaging and shipping centre.
Because of the container portﾴs growth in the shipping business, the worldﾴs largest shipping company, MSC, chose the Bahamas as its main shipping hub for the U.S and the Caribbean and is also a minority shareholder in the Container Port operation.
The worldﾴs shipping giant was forced to do business with the Container Portﾴs regional competitors during last weekﾴs strike, and reportedly suffered significant financial losses as a result of the work stoppage.
In addition to the threat GBPA officials say last weekﾴs strike posed to the maritime sector, questions are now being raised about the future of tourism projects in Freeport in which Hutchison was expected to play a major role.
The Grand Bahama Port Authority is in negotiations with the Ginn Company out of Orlando Florida, for the construction of a multimillion-dollar resort and luxury home development.
Land negotiations for the project pegged for Barbary Beach involve the Grand Bahama Development Company which is partly owned by Hutchison.
GBPA officials expressed concern last week that Freeportﾴs credibility may have suffered a blow that could have a negative impact on the future of investor relations.
Kerzner International, the countryﾴs other major investor, said in its share offering prospectus that the countryﾴs recent ﾓunstableﾒ labour relations could hurt its companyﾴs financial position.
The Bahamas was the only location out of all of Kerznerﾴs properties where labour unrest was noted as a threat to the companyﾴs finances.
Hutchison representatives, meanwhile, are remaining tight-lipped on whether the Container Port will continue operations in the country.
Sharon Williams, The Bahama Journal
