The Tribune

• Calypso Cove pledges 80% minimum Bahamian workforce

• And promises to put Long Island first; drive ‘repopulation’

• Crown Land purchase only after $100m directly invested

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The developer behind the planned Long Island cruise port has committed to employing a workforce that is a minimum 80 percent Bahamian for a project where the total investment could exceed $500m.

A spokesperson for the Calypso Cove development, whose principals signed a Heads of Agreement with the Government last week, told Tribune Business the ultimate spend could easily double the announced $250m which covers land acquisition costs and infrastructure build-out. Equipment, labour (wages) and construction materials costs would be what takes that to $500m.

They added that, besides committing to a workforce that is at least 80 percent Bahamian, the project’s principals - Sherif Assal and Carlos Torres de Navarra - have also agreed to put Long Island residents first when it comes to jobs and hiring. Using a sliding preference scale, existing residents will be called first, with Long Island descendants getting the second go before the project casts its net wider to all Bahamians.

Pledging that Calypso Cove, which is being billed as a “six star” independent cruise terminal and stopover tourism destination, will not be operated as a private island location that excludes Bahamians, the spokesperson told this newspaper that it will rely heavily on Long Island’s people and authentic local experiences to differentiate it from rival facilities. Some 120 construction posts, as well as contractors, will be needed once building starts.

Explaining the economic and business rationale for investing so heavily in what is “a greenfield site” at Long Island’s southern tip, located in close proximity to the settlements of Gordon’s and Mortimer’s, they said it is being “built to get an existing client” rather than simply hoping that the cruise lines and stopover visitors will come. Between 750,000 to one million cruise passengers are forecast to visit annually once Calypso Cove is completed.

Pointing to the cruise industry’s continued global expansion, with dozens of new vessels scheduled to come off shipyard production lines before 2030, the spokesperson said Long Island’s relative proximity to the US and Florida will make it an attractive port of call compared to other Caribbean territories in an era when the lines are seeking to minimise fuel costs and remain close to home post-COVID.

And, while the developers have requested a Crown Land grant for 500 acres critical to Calypso Cove’s build-out, along with a 50-acre seabed lease, the spokesperson revealed the former deal will not be activated until “specific performance thresholds” have been met. In particular, the developers must invest a minimum $100m directly into the project before any Crown Land grant or purchase is considered.

“The Government did not want the developers to have an immediate grant,” the spokesperson said. “They have requested specific performance thresholds to be met. The developer has to spend $100m, and it has to be verified that this has been spent directly in the project and not outside. Only then can they request the Crown Land grant.

“No financier will fund this without a fee simple in title. It’s largely on private land, and they’re going to end up buying the land from the Government. They will pay for it. That’s not going to be a Crown grant. While most of the project is being built on Crown Land, most of the project will be on private land.” Some 1,066 acres of the 1,566 acre project consists of private land that the Calypso Cove developers will close on once all necessary approvals and financing are in place.

The Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA), in confirming that the National Economic Council (NEC) had given its blessing to the project via a July 7, 2022, letter to the developers, affirmed that work permits would be granted to key management personnel and specialised workers provided they adhered to “the Government’s 80:20 ratio (Bahamian to foreign) labour policy”.

“I think the investment bodes well for Long Island,” the Calypso Cove spokesperson said. “This is going to be an effort in repopulation for an area that has suffered the depopulation of thousands of persons over the last few decades. In 1980 there were 2,200 people [in south Long Island], and now there is not more than 100 people from Clarence Town to the southern end.

“This remains the catalyst for the rebirth and regeneration of the island with particular focus on the south, which has been ignored and forgotten for more than 40 years. It is that part which needs the most help, and this symbiotic relationship is intended to provide just that- help and hope.

“This development is important for everyone on Long Island, whether it be moonshiners in the north to the boat builder and sailors in the middle and the seamen, fishermen and farmers in the south. Our approach will be inclusive and Long Island focused.”

It is unclear yet when construction will start, and all necessary investment incentives and planning approvals will be in place. Financing will also have to be arranged, and some Long Islanders will likely take convincing about the project’s merits given the limited information made available on it to-date.

Cheryl de Goicoechea, the Long Island Chamber of Commerce president, told Tribune Business the group has not had any discussions with Azul Destinations and Calypso Cove Destinations about their plans and she has only heard information on it via the media.

“Everything is being done in Nassau. I have not been informed about anything. Nothing has been done on Long Island, so I don’t know anything about the project other than what we see in the press,” she said. “But maybe they have spoken to the Commissioner and maybe they have spoken with Town Planning. Maybe they have met with more important people on Long Island and I just was not included.”

Public consultation thus has yet to start in earnest, but the Calypso Cove spokesperson promised: “This will not be a private island. The developer is trying to encourage Long Islanders to be a part of it, while there are going to be security protocols it’s not going to be preventative in not allowing people in, because the beauty of the island and its people will be the real attraction.

“We don’t see any immediate environmental issues. A proper study needs to be done of the economic impact and how it seeks to engage Long Island, not just the south but the entire island and the diaspora. The developer is not building hoping to get a client; they’re building to get an existing client, and the more exposed Long Island is to the outside world the more opportunities it has for economic growth and empowerment.

“Money and opportunity follows people, not the other way around. You have nothing down there now in the southern Bahamas close to this. This is on an international shipping land, the Crooked Island passage.” 

Mr Torres de Navarra is a former head of port and destination development for Carnival Cruise Lines, and is also an ex-chief executive of Holistica, the joint venture between Royal Caribbean and ITM Group. Mr Assal is heavily involved in providing security services to the cruise lines.