The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Eleuthera’s infrastructure must keep pace with foreign direct investment, the island’s Chamber of Commerce president is warning, with a study of its needs required “as soon as possible”.

Speaking with Tribune Business ahead of the Eleuthera Business Outlook on May 17, Thomas Sands said: “I think that one of the first challenges we have to be honest with ourselves about is that we have an economy that has been stagnant for a very long time. There has been some limited improvement in the infrastructure over those years.

“What is taking place in terms of the level of development that we will see over the next 18 months to ten years is significant. It is significantly greater than we would have thought possible 12 months ago. In reality we need to re-evaluate what that means and do so quickly. There are some very tight timelines in the delivery of these projects.”

Mr Sands warned that projects such as Disney’s $250m-$400m Lighthouse Point development threaten to impose a “strain on resources” in the absence of the necessary planning.

He added: “Essentially what we have in infrastructure today, from my understanding and interpretation, will not facilitate what is coming. The assessment of what is needed, and how quickly it is needed, must happen as soon as possible. I think the follow-through in the execution of whatever is needed must happen. That is speaking to traditional civil infrastructure in terms of business infrastructure.”

Mr Sands also reiterated the need for government to consider economic empowerment legislation for areas such as south and central Eleuthera.

“These areas need to quickly ramp up the commerce side of things because, again, most people over the last 20 years have been trying to just hold on and survive through the worst recession that I have known in my lifetime,” he added.

“It will be a challenge, then, to quickly ramp up and maximise these opportunities without initiatives similar to that. You have to paint the entire picture. Infrastructure not only involves the roads, water, airports, education, policing but also - at the same time - building that support for commerce.”

Mr Sands said there appeared to be a lot of “positive anticipation” over Disney’s proposed Lighthouse Point development, adding: “In some instances, there may be some impatience in wanting it to happen even quicker. There definitely is a process that developers must go through. I think generally the environment and the expectation is that people want something to happen; they want the opportunities. I think that they are not sure in some instances how they prepare for it.”

Last month, the Government and Disney Island Development signed the formal agreement to develop a cruise port and entertainment facility at Lighthouse Point, the southernmost tip of Eleuthera.