Just over a year after inking a billion-dollar deal to redevelop Cable Beach, Baha Mar has submitted a revised master plan to the government, which would increase its capital investment by at least another billion dollars, according to Minister of Financial Services and Investments Vincent Peet.
The minister said the new plan also calls for an increase in the number of hotel rooms from 2,700 to 3,550 and the employment of over 5,000 employees during the projectﾒs construction phase.
A similar number of permanent employees is expected to be employed upon completion of the project by 2010.
“In 2005/2006, some $30 million is being spent on Casino Tower room reservations and new gaming technology,” reported Minister Peet, while contributing to debate on the 2006/2007 budget in the House of Assembly on Tuesday night.
He said that within 30 days work will start on the $80 million Radisson to Sheraton branded hotel conversion.
In April, Baha Mar started clearing land, preparing the site across from the Radisson Cable Beach Resort for the development of a commercial village and eventually new roadwork.
Construction is being staged, according to officials, so that only one hotel is closed at a time.
The development company has also committed to replacing the Cecil Wallace Whitfield Centre, the Bahamas Development Bank, and the Gaming Board, police station and straw market buildings within the boundaries of the project or elsewhere should the government prefer alternative sites.
While contributing to the debate, Minister Peet also reported that total investment to date attracted by the Christie government is $11.2 billion.
According to the minister, 430 investment project proposals were submitted during May 2002 to May 2006.
He said of that number, the National Economic Council (NCE) approved 229 of those projects.
Minister Peet said 48 of these projects are currently under construction, and 181 projects are at various preparatory stages but have not yet commenced construction.
He also reported that the NEC refused 47 of these projects during the four-year period.
One hundred and fifty-four projects are inactive – project proposals that have been submitted to the ministry, but the investors have either failed to comply with the requirements of the ministry or have shown no interest in pursuing the proposal, he said.
Government officials anticipate that construction will begin on a substantial number of these projects within the next 12 to 18 months.
An estimated 48 have reportedly already begun construction.
Minister Peet said there has been $1.5 billion already invested in The Bahamas compared to $275 million reflected in periodic reports from investors last year.
Minister Peet said that of the $1.5 billion invested to date, over 600 contracts valuing $428 million have been awarded to Bahamian contractors with over 3,700 jobs created when compared with contracts valuing $275 million with 2,900 jobs generated up to 2005.
“It is evident therefore that an increasing percentage of the foreign direct investment dollar is directly benefiting Bahamian contractors with the consequent enhancement of job opportunities,” the minister said.
Government officials are confident that once more projects come on stream the countryﾒs unemployment rate will decrease.
That figure stood at 10.2 percent in 2005 and 2004.
Based on the ministerﾒs report, land sales have been equally impressive, standing at more than $5 billion over the past few years.
He also pointed to the second home market, which he called a major impetus for economic development on Family Islands like Abaco, Eleuthera, Harbour Island, Exuma and Grand Bahama.
“The obvious success of efforts to promote the second home market has also been accompanied by some unintended consequences,” Minister Peet said.
“Increasingly, in some islands, non-Bahamians who purchased homes for residential purposes are also renting them. In many instances, they are competing with licensed hotel/resort accommodations, which are required to meet certain physical and operational standards while also being required to pay taxes and or license fees. These facilities fall outside the tax net.”
The minister explained that as a result, the Office of the Prime Minister recently submitted a land policy paper which outlines interim solutions that would require minimal legislative change with respect to the sale and use of Crown and government lands to foreigners.
The paper also speaks to the evaluation of projects involving government expenditures or incentives, the use of those incentives and maximizing (land) revenue potential.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
