The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Balearia is in talks with the Government about expanding its ferry services to Nassau, a move that could generate “wonderful benefits” for the capital’s economy and its container port.

Michael Maura, chief executive of Arawak Port Development Company (APD), revealed to Tribune Business on Friday that the Spanish-owned ferry company had met the port operator several times to discuss a service that could potentially bring thousands of extra tourists to New Providence annually.

He disclosed that Balearia was proposing a ROPAX service, which would deliver both passengers and roll-on/roll-off cargo to Nassau.

And, rather than dock at Prince George’s Wharf with the cruise ships, the Spanish firm’s ferry would berth at Nassau Container Port’s (NCP) Arawak Cay facility.

Confirming that BISX-listed APD had already shown the docking and cargo processing facilities it can offer to Balearia, Mr Maura told Tribune Business: “They told me they are still in the process of finalising arrangements with the Government.

“They’re still interested. We met with them on a number of occasions, and they seemed to accept what we said to them.”

Recalling the two sides’ discussions, Mr Maura added: “My recollection is that they spoke about three times’ a week [service]. It would be from Fort Lauderdale, and they would be arriving at night.

“They spoke arriving between 6pm-7pm. The turnaround would be between six to eight hours.”

Mr Maura was unable to recall the size of Balearia’s proposed vessel, or how many passengers it projects to bring to Nassau, but he said it would be of significant size to withstand conditions that might be encountered on a Florida-Bahamas crossing.

“That would be wonderful for us,” the APD chief said of Balearia’s proposal. “There’s absolutely no benefit to us on the cargo side. The benefit for us will be the passenger throughput.

“It would definitely be exciting. What is also exciting is the potential for, say, 600 passengers going into the Fish Fry. It’s a huge economic opportunity for the Fish Fry with that vessel berthing and landing at Nassau Container Port.”

Balearia appears to see the Bahamas as fertile ground for its business. A Nassau service would further deepen its commitments in this nation, which are already expanding with the acquisition of a larger vessel that will take over its existing Grand Bahama route this year.

The Spanish ferry company has also moved its call centre operation, featuring some 30 jobs, to Grand Bahama in another indication it expects to be in this country for the long-term via its Bahamas Express.

Balearia’s proposed addition of a Nassau service adds another tourism access route, and more visitors, at a time when the Bahamas most needs them. Apart from the extra 2,200 rooms that will come into service when Baha Mar opens, further inventory will also come on stream with the opening of West Bay Street’s Holiday Inn (the former Nassau Palm) and Paradise Island’s Warwick Hotel this year.

Ferry services between Florida and the Bahamas have not always resulted in financial success, though, as shown when the CAT service was discontinued. Balearia, though, appears to be investing with confidence.

The Nassau Container Port currently does not process passengers despite being New Providence’s premier cargo entry point, so Customs and Immigration will have to enhance their presence if the Balearia service does come to fruition.

Mr Maura confirmed that all roll-on/roll-off cargo from the Balearia ferry would be transferred to APD’s Gladstone Road Freight Terminal (GFT) for processing, while passenger carry-on luggage could leave the vessel with its owner.

APD, meanwhile, is hoping to begin discussions with the Government shortly on a proposed new link to its facility that could become the Bahamas’ first ‘toll road’.

Mr Maura said APD’s proposal for the new causeway, which would connect Arawak Cay’s western end to West Bay Street, was now on his desk.

He told Tribune Business that the link would like be a ‘toll road’, where drivers and vehicles paid to use it. The BISX-listed port operator is still determining potential charges, and whether these should be different for commercial vehicles as opposed to passenger traffic.

Mr Maura said the next step was for APD to discuss the proposal with the relevant government agencies, likely the Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Works.

He added, though, that the Ministry of Works had indicated in preliminary talks that it might be possible to take the new road link behind the shopping centre opposite Saunders Beach to connect to one of the highways create by the New Providence Road Improvement project.

If this could be achieved, Mr Maura said would remove the heavy vehicular traffic that typically calls at the port from West Bay Street entirely.

And, while the financing for the new road link has yet to be determined (how much, who pays and the proportionate split between government and APD), this should not be too hard to obtain if it is ‘secured’ against income from any tolls.

Tribune Business revealed last year how the road proposal stemmed from the Government and APD’s shared desire to alleviate the impact that heavy vehicular traffic was having on the nearby Arawak Cay Fish Fry.

Current access to APD’s Nassau Container Port, and the whole of Arawak Cay, is via just a single causeway at its eastern end that runs directly past the Fish Fry.

Apart from being relatively narrow for two-way traffic, many believe the heavy cargo vehicles that use it are incompatible with the Fish Fry’s image as a dining/eatery destination for both locals and tourists

Elsewhere, Mr Maura told Tribune Business that APD had seen “a moderate increase” in cargo volumes moving through the Arawak Cay port. “Baha Mar, I would tell you, for the most part has been pretty flat,” Mr Maura said of its throughput impact.

“But you much prefer, from a business perspective, to manage consistency as opposed to market fluctuations.”

While construction work on the $3.5 billion Baha Mar project will soon come to an end, Mr Maura said APD had been informed that other projects will pick up the slack.

“We were told that in March the Hilton is supposed to break ground, and it will be a total $250 million project,” he added of China State Construction’s plans to build a luxury condo hotel, complete with offices, retail and marina offerings, on the six acres of land immediately adjacent to the existing hotel’s western side.

Albany’s $250 million investment in its office complex phase is also moving into high gear, another potential boost for APD.

Mr Maura added that, for the second consecutive year, APD had in 2014 been ranked as the Caribbean’s most efficient port, placing it ahead of 23 rival facilities.