The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business

Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Abaco’s Chamber of Commerce president says there is a “real area of concern” about the potential environmental impact from an $800m mixed-use resort project targeted at South Abaco.

Daphne Degregory- Miaoulis told Tribune Business that while south Abaco’s economy would receive a much-needed potential boost from the Kakona South Abaco development, its location in proximity to 22,000 acres of Bahamas National Trust (BNT) property in the Abaco National Park - a key breeding ground for the Abaco parrot - needed to be carefully assessed.

“I would encourage the Government to put some real focus and emphasis on whatever they do [so as] not to be damaging to the environment. That’s the real area of concern for that project,” she warned. “I would think the general population are excited about the prospect of having more revenue coming into the area, and the spin-offs that it’s going to create.

“But anyone who is basically environmentally conscious, I think they’re all going to be concerned about how it’s going to affect the area.” Few details were revealed on the project at Friday’s Heads of Agreement signing with the Davis administration, other than it will incorporate a marina that will accommodate boats up to 250 feet in length along with multiple home sites.

The developers were also said to have invested $50m in a project that has been on the drawing board for some 15 years, with the development taking options to acquire some 700 acres of south Abaco real estate - split into two parcels, 300 acres and 400 acres, respectively, in 2007. The Kakona development will also be near neighbours of another multi-million dollar project, namely that oRa’anan ‘Ronnie’ Ben-Zur, the principal behind Tyrsoz Family Holdings.

John Pinder, the central and south Abaco MP, and parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, said at the project signing: “The full cost of the project is well over $800m. It’s nearing a billion dollars. The start is going to be within months as best I can say. There are some finalisations that have to do with certain governmental approvals.

“However, we’ll have shovels in the ground within months, and the finalisation is dependent on how quickly we could develop the skill set within our people to make it happen and supply chains and so on, so forth.”

Describing the project as a “monumental step forward” in Abaco’s development, Mr Pinder said: “The community and the people of South Abaco are behind this. It involves hundreds of room keys. It has a marina that will be able to accommodate boats up to 250 feet, which goes in line with the ever-developing and increasing demand for yachting facilities.

“The workforce in South Abaco will have somewhere to go besides driving all the way to central where the economy is now centric. So it is important for the people of South Abaco to be able to feed their families, to be able to have a career and the youth to have a future right there in South Abaco.”

“It’s a significant undertaking to build, but it’s also going to be hundreds of jobs to sustain long-term, and there’s a skill training component to it. So we won’t be only looking for skilled workers outside of this country; we’ll be training our people to do the right jobs, and the skills will evolve as the project evolves.”

Mrs Degregory-Miaoulis, who is also the sales and marketing manager for Abaco Neem, said: “I’m a farmer and all of my stuff is totally certified organic, so it should tell you where I am coming from. But when I see some of the prints of the project then I would be able to feel comfortable with it. But if the government has signed the Heads of Agreement then that means they are happy with it.

“I just hope this developer has all of his funding in place, because we don’t want what happened in Treasure Cat. That has ended up in a tragic stalemate and in court. It basically has the people in Treasure Cay held hostage.”

One Abaco development that is progressing is Montage Cay, which is moving ahead at pace with more than $60m in sales during the last 12 months of operation.

Mrs Degregory-Miaoulis said: “We’re excited about it. We met with the project developer and he’s very anxious to support Bahamian business. They actually came to look at our place and look at our landscaping, and what we have available, etc… They’re also going to be opening a spa and they were looking at the Neem products for the spa. They want to develop something that’s unique.”

“These are high end. They’re going to add that Baker’s Bay level of quality to the island, and eventually they will have a small hotel that can house prospective buyers and that sort of thing. And I think that what they’re going to be is environmentally sustainable, and we definitely are excited about anything that’s bringing new business and new energy to Abaco.”

Montage Cay was formerly known as Matt Lowe’s Cay, and is less than ten minutes by ferry from mainland Abaco. “You can literally see the cay from the mainland,” she said.