Eddins Taylor, a Mayaguana businessman and mail-boat operator, has won a charter to ship all the equipment for the $1.8 billion I-Group-Bahamas Hotel Corporation joint venture to be developed on that remote island.
“Some of us who plant our corn do not be around to inherit it, such as my father – he and I started the business together many years ago – but (this good thing) has happened. I now will reap what I sowed,” he said.
Mr. Taylor is a mail-boat captain, and claims to be the longest serving mail-boat operator in The Bahamas, reportedly running his service into Mayaguana since 1966. He said he expected that the hauling of the equipment to the island would require all his capacity, and noted that he will have a new ship ready in three or four months.
Mr. Taylor told The Bahama Journal that he firmly believed the proposed development is the best thing that has ever happened to Mayaguana. He said that Mayaguana has been left out of the kind of economic boom he said has been taking place on Turks Island, 40 miles southeast of Mayaguana.
Mr. Taylor owns a 22-room guesthouse in Pirate’s Well, one of the island’s three main settlements, which he and his father built together 15 years ago.
He said that other Mayaguana entrepreneurs are also taking advantage of the project already – Ernold Brown owns another guesthouse frequently used by the I-Group executives, and Mildred Williamson supplies the fuel for all the machines being used in the development.
I-Group President Stephen Roy noted that officials from The Bahamas Development Bank had been out to Mayaguana a while ago, and that there were a few other entrepreneurs with plans to get involved with the development.
There is talk, according to Mr. Roy, of a commercial centre and a regional airline, possibly with one plane, among other things. Mr. Roy explained that by building the island’s infrastructure, the plan is to attract other investors, and not only resorts.
He said he could perhaps foresee manufacturing of either intellectual or physical property happening in Mayaguana as well, though he stressed that it was too early to say who might be interested in coming.
The I-Group does own resorts, but its main business, according to Mr. Roy, is infrastructure development.
The plan is to have the infrastructure built up to such a degree that other resort investors would come and participate in the Mayaguana development.
There are no agreements on the table with resorts just yet, but Mr. Roy did note that flights are scheduled from Boston, Chicago and Miami the moment the runway is completed.
The developers, meanwhile, have expressed a strong commitment to the overall development of Mayaguana.
During the signing of the development’s heads of agreement nearly one week ago, Prime Minister Perry Christie said the integration of local communities will be achieved by ensuring that there are improvements to the quality of life for Mayaguanians.
He announced that the initial project will include: necessary improvements to the Mayaguana Health Clinic; construction of a science laboratory at the Abraham’s Bay School; construction of a lunch room and recreation facilities at Pirate’s Well School; the construction of sporting and community recreational facilities; the construction of roads to hard-to-reach areas on the island; and the construction of an oversize reverse osmosis plant.
The $1.8 billion investment is expected to materialize over a 15-year period, but the developers are expected to spend a minimum of $14 million over the next two years.
The first phase of the development will include the rebuilding and upgrading of the current airport with a runway to a minimum length of 7,000 square feet, improved terminal facilities, and security features which meet international standards. The airport, Mr. Christie said, will be capable of accommodating international commercial traffic.
The first phase will also include the creation of a 25-unit upscale boutique resort at North Beach, including luxury hotel accommodations, eco-sensitive resort amenities, a 100-lot residential community, utility services and roadways.
This component of the development will also include hiking trails, a sauna and spa, a small clinic, a golf putting green and driving range.
By: Quincy Parker, The Bahama Journal
