The Tribune

By Neil Hartnell

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Superwash’s owner yesterday disclosed that the cost of building a new laundromat has “almost doubled” in just seven years, as he asserted: “It’s becoming so cost prohibitive to build in The Bahamas.”

Dionisio D’Aguilar, speaking out after it was revealed that concrete prices are set to increase by 11 percent per cubic yard, told Tribune Business that his newest laundromat - currently under construction on East Street South and targeted for completion around the 2027 first quarter’s end - requires a $4m-$4.5m investment.

This, though, represents around a 100 percent cost increase from Superwash’s last laundromat at the Gladstone Road and Carmichael Road junction, which carried a price tag “just north of $2m” when it was completed in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Branding the cost increase as “staggering”, Mr D’Aguilar warned it threatens to “disincentivise” construction investment unless developers can pass these hikes on to end-users, the consumer, through higher prices, rents and other charges. He told this newspaper that “someone has really got to look at this” and work out how to address ever-rising building costs.

The former minister of tourism and aviation’s concerns emerged as Bahamians were warned to brace for a further surge in construction costs, with concrete prices set to jump by around $30 per cubic yard, due to the loss of local aggregate supply with Bahama Rock’s ongoing closure.

Bahamas Redi-Mix Concrete, one of the nation’s major suppliers, warned contractor and developer customers in a November 2, 2026, letter that it will increase its concrete prices across-the-board from November 9, 2026, due to the loss of Bahama Rock’s aggregate source which represents a key raw material for its products.

Philip Andrews, its managing director, wrote: “As I am sure you are aware, Bahama Rock is temporarily closed and, to continue operations, our local rock supplier has had to source alternate materials. They have just received a shipment form the Dominican Republic at costs almost double those of the Freeport aggregate.

“We have no choice but to pass this increase on but are hopeful that Freeport will resume operations soon. As a result, our prices will be increased on November 9, 2026.” Mr Andrews also warned that all pea rock mixes will cost an extra $3 per cubic yard exclusive of VAT.

“We regret having to do this but have no other choice until Freeport resumes shipments. Prices will be reduced as soon as we can resolve this issue,” the Bahamas Redi-Mix Concrete chief pledged. “We thank you for your business in the past, and will strive to do all we can to continue to provide you with quality concrete as reliably and efficiently as possible.”

Mr D’Aguilar, meanwhile, said the latest construction price hikes will only worsen the cost spiral. He said this has been driven further upwards by the new environmental approvals regime that large projects must undergo plus the tax change that means VAT can no longer be recovered on building inputs for developments worth $1m and above.

“The last time I built a laundromat from scratch was in 2019; the one at Carmichael Road and Gladstone Road,” the Superwash chief told Tribune Business. “Looking at the costs from then to now, it’s almost doubled to build a laundromat of comparable size.”

He estimated that the laundry chain’s latest wash house, currently under construction near the East Street South Shopping Centre “just north of KFC”, will cost between $4m-$4.5m by the time it it is completed at the end of the 2027 first quarter or April next year at latest.

This investment, though, is double what was required by Superwash’s last new location in 2019. “The last one in 2019 cost me just north of $2m,” Mr D’Aguilar recalled. “It’s definitely become, with the whole new environmental regime being rolled into it, it really has impacted the cost.

“In addition to the fact that you cannot deduct the VAT on the cost of a new location. That immediately added 10 percent right there. That is even more onerous because it impacts every component of the construction project whereas these price increases impact the construction component of the project.

“Shipping costs are obviously up with the war in the Middle East. It’s becoming so cost prohibitive to build in The Bahamas, and the only way to correct that is to charge more. All this is going to contribute to inflation; inflation related to construction that ultimately drives your economy,” Mr D’Aguilar added.

“The building or expansion of new businesses, the building of new homes, the building of new buildings, is incredibly economically impactful. Every time something continues to increase in cost over time, that’s going to disincentivise people from building unless they can charge more.

“I’m shocked, really, at the cost of construction notwithstanding the ever-increasing oversight in construction and the bureaucracy. The ever-increasing costs and oversight are really deterring in construction. It’s really going to, I feel, deter people from building. It’s just going to make it incredibly difficult for people to come up with the costs to do that.”

Mr D’Aguilar said that, while high-end residential homes were unlikely to be impacted by soaring construction costs as project sponsors have the wealth and income to absord the impact, operators in the “normal and domestic economy” are unlikely to be so fortunate.

He again hit out at the first Davis administration’s move to prevent “legitimate businesses” such as his from reclaiming the VAT paid on construction inputs, such as building materials, if the project costs exceed $1m. The Superwash owner said there had to be a better way to “yield” extra VAT revenues without disincentivising businesses from undertaking construction-related expansion.

“Someone has really got to take a look at this and see how to make it not so expensive to construct in this country, especially for businesses,” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business. “Then you have the oversight regime becoming more and more onerous.

“I heard the minister of works [Clay Sweeting] say that with the time you put your plans in at the Ministry of Works, his goal is to get it approved within 60 days. I really hope he’s able to do that. It would be admirable if he could, and he should remain focused on that project of getting plans approved within 60 days.

“That’s another great disincentive. If you don’t personally follow up on that [building plans] endlessly and relentlessly, nothing ever happens.” Mr D’Aguilar then revealed another major issue he faces is getting Superwash’s new location hooked up to New Providence’s power grid given that Bahamas Grid Company is now responsible for the transmission and distribution network.

“Another big concern is power,” he disclosed. “Now we have created Bahamas Grid Company, BPL is taking great pleasure in telling new customers or people looking for power that they have to go to Bahamas Grid Company. It’s a whole new process to navigate.

“I understand the installed capacity is not sufficient to meet the ever-growing demand for power. You have to fight for your share of it.” Construction costs are also rising at a time when the housing stock in “pockets” of New Providence and in the Family Islands is in “terrible condition”, while supply chain bottlenecks and pricing pressures stemming from COVID-19 remain.

And, acknowledging that “everything has gone up”, not just construction costs, Mr D’Aguilar said the cost of living is imposing pressure for wage and salary increases across the Bahamian economy as workers struggle to afford housing, food and other costs associated with running a family.

He urged the Davis administration to focus on what he called “the basics”, such as fixing pot-holed roads and ensuring reliable BPL power supply, rather than continued foreign travel to seminars and conferences.

“Focus on simple things,” Mr D’Aguilar blasted. “I don’t understand why they don’t focus on the simple stuff. Focus on getting the process to work better. Stop flying around the world to conferences. Fix the roads, get the power to work.

“We don’t want any new projects or sexy things like Golden Yolk or BAMSI. Get the power to work, focus on the roads, the basics. That’s what people want.”