The Tribune

A NEW economic impact report prepared by Oxford Economics, one of the world’s largest providers of economic forecasts and analyses, revealed that Baha Mar has accounted for five per cent of the annual gross domestic product of the Bahamas for the past two years.

Since 2005, the report said, Baha Mar has accounted on average 3.2 per cent of the Bahamian economy – a total of $2.1 billion between 2005 and 2012.

In fact, according to the report, if were not for the multi- billion dollar project, the Bahamas would have experienced negative growth to the tune of 2.7 per cent in real GDP.

Senior vice president for external and governmental affairs Robert Sands said the company is extremely proud to be making such a contribution to the economic well-being of the Bahamas.

“The fact that these findings are collaborated by institutional companies, whether it is Moody’s, Bloomberg; the fact that this work is being done by a very credible research company associated with Oxford University, certain adds additional credibility to the facts we have presented today,” Mr Sands said.

“We have always said that Baha Mar is good for the Bahamas and good for Bahamians, and through the demonstration of the economic impact of this transformative project, these benefits are being seen to produce those types of benefits for generations of Bahamians to come.”

According to the Economic Impact Report (EIR), Baha Mar has awarded some $230 million in local contracts with an additional $170 million set to be put out to bid, creating more than $400 million in local direct impact since 2011.

As for jobs and wages, since 2005, Baha Mar has generated $719 million in additional employment income. This figure is expected to mushroom to $12 billion over a 20-year period as the resort is projected to support, directly or indirectly, an average employment count of nearly 12,000 jobs.

Presenting a new booklet that outlines these and other findings from the EIR, Mr Sands said the company will embark on an aggressive marketing campaign to inform Bahamians of how Baha Mar is paying off.

Around 10,000 copies of this new booklet, which is being printed locally on recycled paper ,will be made available throughout the country,” he said.

It will also be posted online and on Facebook.

Baha Mar CEO and chairman Sarkis Izmirlian said the Oxford report provides “hard evidence” that Baha Mar has already had a real, positive impact on the people of the Bahamas.

“As we move forward, Baha Mar will be responsible for employing and training thousands of Bahamians – in technology, gaming, management, hospitality and a host of disciplines – for generations to come,” he said.