The Tribune

THE FNM branded PLP leader Perry Christie's comments on the container port relocation unfounded and "hypocritical".

In a statement released yesterday, the governing party said its decision to move the port from Bay Street to Arawak Cay has been widely celebrated as "a landmark achievement" for the Bahamian shipping industry.

"In a panicked reaction to this FNM government milestone, the opposition leader Perry Christie, at a recent rally, made untrue and hypocritical claims about the project, namely that the FNM has conspired to give special interests and insiders a monopoly control of the port," the statement read. "The facts point to the exact opposite: the FNM delivered a port at a lower cost and has regular Bahamians as significant stakeholders."

Over the weekend, Mr Christie referred to the Arawak Cay port as "one of the biggest scandals in Bahamian history".

But the FNM said Mr Christie's plan to move the port to Clifton would have cost far more.

"The fact is, one of the 'biggest scandals in Bahamian history' has been avoided," the statement said.

The party said the Arawak port cost around $80 million, whereas the Clifton project was estimated at $300 million.

A public/ private joint venture was entered into with the Arawak Port Development Company (ADP), with government contributing the land and the private sector - including traditional cargo sector stakeholders - providing the financing for construction.

"The private sector companies own 40 per cent of the new port, the government an equal 40 per cent and the public 20 per cent, which the Prime Minister hopes will increase as government, some time in the future, makes a part of its 40 per cent available to Bahamians," the FNM statement said.

"Prime Minister Ingraham even made it possible for government employees to purchase shares in ADP by way of salary advances repayable to the Treasury by salary deductions over a period of up to 12 months."

The party said: "Mr Christie wanted to move the ports to Clifton. He is now complaining about increased fees at Arawak - can anyone imagine the astronomical fees if goods had to be hauled from Clifton?

"Remember the land at Arawak was owned by the government, whereas the land at Clifton was owned by Frankie Wilson's company. Obviously, Mr Wilson would have owned a significant interest in the port.

"And so, with Mr Ingraham, not only do the Bahamian people have a port built on the people's land but the Bahamian people are very much stakeholders in the investment."

In 2009, Franklyn Wilson, a longtime PLP stalwart and the largest shareholder in FOCOL Holdings, said the company's board never discussed selling land to the Christie administration for the construction of a port at Clifton.