The Tribune

BY DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FREEPORT - Thirteen members of the Honorary Consular Corp were on Grand Bahama for a tour of the city and the industrial sector.

The aim was to familiarise them with the investment opportunities that exist on Grand Bahama.

After visiting the container port, harbour, the shipyard and the brewery, the group was hosted to lunch at the Pelican Bay Resort, where executives of the Grand Bahama Port Authority told of investment opportunities in the real estate and residential sector.

Chairman Ian Fair, Minister for Grand Bahama Dr Michael Darville and Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell spoke at the event.

Mr Fair described the City of Freeport as “an investor’s dream”.

He said the city is a 230 square mile, tax-free trade zone that was created 58 years ago by an agreement between the government and the Grand Bahama Port Authority by legislation known as the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

“This agreement under the leadership of the Port Authority in concert with the government of the Bahamas has created one of the most unique investment platforms in the Caribbean region,” Fair said.

“As a result of the unique attributes, Freeport offers a highly advantageous investment platform providing a wealth of opportunities for investment over a variety of the island’s economic sectors, including maritime logistics, technology financial services, manufacturing assembly and value addition, and tourism real estate sectors,” he said.

Mr Fair said Freeport has some $11 billion of investment in the ground.

Minister for Grand Bahama Dr Michael Darville said Grand Bahama is a major maritime and business centre, which offers the benefit of a free trade zone with excellent tax incentives.

He noted that the maritime industry encompasses a wide range of sectors, including ship and mega-yacht repair, oil transshipment and storage, international cargo transshipment – which combined, contribute an estimated 14-18 per cent of the gross domestic product of our country.

Minister Darville said Grand Bahama has one of the largest man-made harbours in the world – deepest in the region – which serves as a major hub for worldwide transshipment of container cargo. It also has an excellent ship repair facility and liquid petroleum transshipment and blending facilities.

“We believe that Grand Bahama Island has a lot of potential to develop its natural resources and is poised to become a global shipping and business centre in preparation for the opening of the expanded Panama Canal in early 2015,” he said.

“Our strategic geographic location, state of the art infrastructure and our harbour gives our island, and by extension, our country, a competitive advantage globally.

“In addition, plans are now on the drawing board to further strengthen our island’s position as a leading maritime centre with the proposed construction of a state of the art arbitration center and the final stages of dredging of the harbour,” he said.

He said government is committed to the growth and development of Grand Bahama.

“The staff of the Ministry for Grand Bahama in consultation with the business community and the residents of Grand Bahama, have led a focused, driven approach to attract both local and foreign direct investments, create entrepreneurial and employment opportunities for Grand Bahamians thereby transforming this island’s economy.

“My ministry is mandated to work along with its public and private sector partners, to ensure that this island’s economy is turned around from its present state of being dependent on social programmes to an island where the tourism, financial services, industrial, agricultural and maritime sectors can thrive simultaneously,” he said.

Dr Darville said the Ministry for Grand Bahama, in collaboration with the Grand Bahama Port Authority, acts as a one-stop shop for the establishment of businesses and the procurement of permits and licenses necessary to conduct business.

He noted that there has been an increase in both local and foreign investor confidence in Grand Bahama, which has resulted in the opening of a number of new small businesses and the expansion of current businesses, creating many new sustainable jobs for Grand Bahamians.

“The Ministry for Grand Bahama has the resolve to rejuvenate and grow the economy of Grand Bahama as we are acutely aware that when Grand Bahama is revived, the economic viability of the Bahamas in general is strengthened.”