The Atlantis Phase III construction project is now at its midpoint and 80 percent of the workers at the site are Bahamians, Kerzner International Chairman Sol Kerzner said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Mr. Kerzner and Bahamian government officials released several doves at the Atlantis Phase III site on Monday.\uffa0 They said it was a symbol of new beginnings and a good gesture for Easter as the project reached its midpoint.<\/p>\n
Mr. Kerzner was speaking during a blessing ceremony at the property, which was attended by government and religious leaders.<\/p>\n
The project is on schedule for an April 2007 completion, according to company officials, and Kerzner International would have a total staff count of approximately 10,000 when Phase III opens.<\/p>\n
The expansion will feature two new towers: a 600-room all suite hotel tower and a condo hotel tower that officials say will take advantage of the prime beach property that it sits on. <\/p>\n
Phase III will also feature a new waterslide attraction, a dolphin facility, a ballroom that is expected to be the largest, not only in the Bahamas but the Caribbean, and a new spa and sports centre.<\/p>\n
Describing the expansion as an exciting and challenging project, Mr. Kerzner said it will take Atlantis and the Bahamas to another level in terms of destination resorts.<\/p>\n
“I think that we have been very fortunate here in The Bahamas to have a government that recognizes the importance of the tourist industry (and) what it does in terms of creating jobs and the growth of the economy and the people,” he said. <\/p>\n
“I think this (project) will lay further foundation for the growth and development of the tourist industry here in the Bahamas.”<\/p>\n
He noted that the quality of workmanship on the project is second to none in the world.<\/p>\n
“We have here 80 percent of our folks are Bahamian,” Mr. Kerzner said. “And I just think that is a great credit to a country, to its people and you know in many ways this is what we are all about, the people.”<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Perry Christie said that Kerzner has been good to the Bahamas and he noted that his government and the Bahamian people have placed a great deal of reliance on the continuity of Kerzner’s vision.<\/p>\n
“The country has invested a great deal of hope as we look to the future in this organization,” Mr. Christie said. “It is paying great dividends for our countrymen; one need only go throughout the Bahamas and see the new level of confidence that investors have in our country.”<\/p>\n
He added, “Investors must make money and be able to see who has made a profit, who is making money. That’s the bottom line.”<\/p>\n
The prime minister acknowledged that those who came before him in government developed a good relationship with investors like the Kerzners.<\/p>\n
He also encouraged Bahamians working at the Atlantis Phase III site to take pride in their work.<\/p>\n
“You’re the people who make it happen, so I want to encourage you as I thank you because when this is finished as was the Royal Towers, and you drive pass with your grandchildren you can say your granddaddy was a part of that,” the prime minister told the workers.<\/p>\n
By: Stephen Gay, The Bahama Journal<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mr. Kerzner said, upon completion, the new features will take Atlantis and the Bahamas to another level in terms of destination resorts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-249319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headlines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249319\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}