The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A CONCRETE provider yesterday urged The Bahamas to develop a “national strategy” for securing and diversifying the supply of aggregates and other key construction materials amid uncertainty over how long Bahama Rock’s production halt will last.

Glennett Fowler, president and chief executive of Grand Bahama-based Heroic Concrete & Concrete Products, told Tribune Business that any aggregate shortages that result from Bahama Rock ceasing its mining operation will raise construction costs throughout this nation and potentially delay the deliver of building projects involving hotels, homes, roads and other infrastructure types.

She added that the Bahama Rock situation, which has seen the company halt aggregate mining for at least an initial 60 days as it waits for confirmation over whether it will gain approval to access a new source and site, has reinforced the need for the Bahamian construction industry to diversify supply chains beyond “any single source for a material essential to development across the country”.

“No single supplier, operational interruption, regulatory matter or external event should be able to significantly disrupt the availability of a critical construction material across The Bahamas," said Ms Fowler in a statement to this newspaper. "A resilient market requires choice: Multiple dependable suppliers, competitive pricing, adequate inventory and the logistical capacity to move materials efficiently throughout our islands."

She added that Heroic was not seeking to criticise any company but, instead, calling for a “more resilient and competitive supply chain that can withstand operational, regulatory and external disruptions”. Competition, they asserted, is a key safeguard to preventing unjustified price increases.

"We cannot wait for a shortage to determine whether our supply chain is resilient," Ms Fowler said. "The Bahamas is experiencing significant development across several islands, and housing, tourism, infrastructure and private sector projects all depend on reliable access to construction materials. We should be planning now for the demand ahead."

She spoke out as Bahama Rock, in a statement responding to Tribune Business inquiries, confirmed that the September 18, 2026, production halt at its existing plant, followed by Monday’s temporary furlough of the company’s 69 hourly-paid staff for a period not to exceed 60 days, has been executed.

It added that it has moved to respond to requests by Bahamian environmental regulators for more information and details to support the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for its proposed aggregate mining of the 515-acre former Bahamas Cement Company property, with further “modelling” and other materials to be provided this week as the company waits for an answer on whether it will receive the go-ahead it says is vital to secure its future.

“Bahama Rock can confirm that production operations were suspended on September 18, 2026, and that the temporary lay-off previously communicated to hourly employees became effective on September 21, 2026,” the aggregate miner said.

“As communicated to employees, the temporary lay-off is expected to last no longer than 60 days. This difficult decision was not made lightly, and we continue to work with our employees to ensure they are informed and supported. 

“The temporary suspension of production results from the fact that Bahama Rock's currently permitted aggregate reserves are substantially depleted, and the company has not yet received the approvals necessary to access additional reserves. While some reserves remain, available permitted material is no longer sufficient to support normal production levels on a sustained basis.”

Asked how much progress has been made in obtaining the required certificate of environmental clearance (CEC) from the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP), Bahama Rock added: “We continue to engage with regulators and have responded, and will continue to respond, to requests for additional information related to the company's applications.

“With respect to DEPP's review, the company has received requests for supplemental information and technical analyse, and has already submitted updates to its filings. We expect to provide additional modelling and supporting materials requested by DEPP this week. We appreciate the ongoing dialogue with regulators and remain committed to providing the information necessary to support a thorough and informed review.

Voicing optimism that the “regulatory review process will continue progressing as this additional information is evaluated”, the company added: “Bahama Rock believes the proposed project represents an important opportunity to secure a reliable source of aggregate materials for The Bahamas while preserving local jobs and supporting future infrastructure, housing, tourism, port and commercial development projects, and disaster relief efforts throughout the country….

“We remain focused on securing the necessary approvals to resume normal operations so that our employees can return to work as quickly as possible. At this time, there have been no material changes in the status of the approval process beyond our ongoing engagement with regulators and government officials.”

Ms Fowler and Heroic, meanwhile, reiterated that supply chain diversity and security is vital to the Bahamian construction industry’s competitiveness with aggregates among the sector’s most important materials. They added that the Bahama Rock situation creates an opportunity for the Government, private sector and regulators to review the construction supply chain’s strength and act now to ease any vulnerabilities.

Besides calling for the “development of additional Bahamian aggregate sources where environmentally responsible and commercially viable”, Ms Fowler and Heroic urged “greater access” to legitimate alternative suppliers; more “efficient and transparent” import arrangements; the planned building of key construction material inventories and reserves; “competitive shipping and inter-island transportation”; and policies that encourage competition.

“Our position is straightforward: Competition is healthy, supply diversity is necessary, responsible environmental stewardship is essential, and no market as important as construction should be unnecessarily vulnerable to the circumstances of any one participant," Ms Fowler said.

She and Heroic added: “The objective should not be to replace one dominant source with another. It should be to build a market in which multiple qualified suppliers can participate and contractors, developers, concrete producers and Bahamian consumers have meaningful choices. As part of its own procurement strategy, Heroic is evaluating alternative domestic and international sources of aggregate.”

A rival, Freeport Aggregates, has already pledged to invest a further $9m to expand production and fill the void created by Bahama Rock’s temporary shutdown through servicing contractors and “all of the local needs in The Bahamas”.

Gregory Moss, attorney for Freeport Aggregates, revealed in a September 16, 2026, letter to Jobeth Coleby-Davis, minister of energy, utilities and aviation, that it is targeting the 2027 third quarter for completion of its planned capacity expansion which will create 20 new jobs in positions such as dragline operations, quality control technicians, maintenance technicians and fixed equipment technicians.

He added that the project, if it proceeds, will take Freeport Aggregates’ post-Hurricane Dorian investment to $19m - including $10m spent by the company on rebuilding its plant. However, Mr Moss’s letter signalled that the company needs to acquire additional land to facilitate its expansion, and meet The Bahamas’ domestic aggregate supply needs as well as export orders.

Fred Mitchell, minister of foreign affairs, in a statement issued in early August said the Government was opposed to Bahama Rock mining the 515-acre former Bahamas Cement Company site. But Bahama Rock has asserted that approving its project will facilitate the near-270 acre expansion of Freeport Harbour - an outcome that will likely take years, if not decades, to achieve.

However, Dillon Knowles, an ex-Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce president, says debate on Bahama Rock’s future is pushing “a false narrative” that is causing all residents and parties involved to “lose sight” of the “location” issues at the controversy’s core.

He previously told Tribune Business that the needs of all sides could be met if the aggregate miner simply opted for an alternative site for a new materials source rather than focus on its chosen 515-acre Bahamas Cement Company property.

Asserting that Grand Bahama has “oodles of land” on its northern shore where limestone/aggregate is plentiful, he added that Bahama Rock had likely selected the former Bahamas Cement Company location because of “convenience” - being next to the current site it has nearly exhausted from mining - and so it can minimise costs by avoiding having to truck product from an alternative site to its processing plant.

However, Mr Knowles told this newspaper that Bahama Rock’s preferred location - if approved - would move the company and its activities even close to Eight Mile Rock and Hepburn Town. And he acknowledged that residents and businesses in these communities have legitimate concerns over this given past mining impacts - especially the use of blasting to dislodge rock, flooding and other environmental impacts.