Lindsey Cancino, chief financial ffficer of the T K Foundation, disclosed yesterday at a joint Rotary Club luncheon at the Ruby Swiss Restaurant that the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), government, and several Rotary Clubs in The Bahamas are all in dialogue with executives of the foundation for the project.
The philanthropic foundation is based in New Providence and was formed from the estate of the founder of T K Shipping.
The past president of the Rotary Club of East Nassau said the foundation is always looking to improve conditions in The Bahamas and worldwide as its motto is, “A hand up, not a hand out.”
So coming up with providing Grand Bahama with a one-of-a-kind reverse osmosis plant is very typical of the kind of work that the foundation does, he says, adding that that is something the foundation prefers to do rather than write a check after a disaster.
Executives of the foundation were engaged in several discussions yesterday with GBPA executives, he said.
Mr. Cancino stressed that the intended use of the plant would be in the event of a disaster, like a hurricane, or in the event of contamination of the water table, and not to replace the water system.
The plan is to provide potable water to residents who most likely need it, he said, adding that Eight Mile Rock was identified as the most obvious community where such an incident can occur.
The proposed plant is to be constructed adjacent to the Eight Mile Rock Police Station in Martin Town for safety purposes.
Mr. Cancino said the idea was born out of the need for the T K Foundation to do something proactive.
Designer of the plant, Paul Baker, he said, is no stranger as he is responsible for creating similar plants.
Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt recently travelled to Grand Bahama and along with GBPA Co-chairman and CEO Julian Francis toured the area and, according to Mr. Cancino, fell in love with the idea.
“Since then, we’ve gotten agreement in principle. So we’re working on the details like the lease for the land, etc. and then we’ll take it to the next step, which is to get the Rotary donation to match our own donation,” he revealed.
The T K Foundation is donating $100,000 to make up the $200,000 budget.
By LEDEDRA MARCHE, Senior FN Reporter
