The Tribune

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

THE $4 billion oil refinery project will be a "game changer" for Grand Bahama, Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest said yesterday.

According to the East Grand Bahama MP, the multibillion dollar project will create 1,200 construction jobs and 600 permanent jobs.

He also discussed the low-cost lots the Minnis administration will be offering to boost access to affordable housing.

Mr Turnquest spoke to reporters on the sidelines of an event held at the Bahamas National Trust.

"Certainly this is a game changer for East Grand Bahama," Mr Turnquest said of the Oban Energies project.

"We have an oil storage facility up there already. And so, this doesn't represent any new risk per se to the area.

"We… understand that the technology that will be used in the construction of this facility is going to be based upon the latest available technology. Very modern, with self-scrubbing features that will ensure that any emissions from the plant are within acceptable ranges.

"The opportunity that exists for the further development as a result of this investment (is) tremendous.

"If you were to just look at the BORCO facility and what it represented to the development of the Freeport area, when it was in the actual refining business, you would understand…what kind of economic impact that had on the development of Grand Bahama.

"All of the chemical engineers and the mechanical engineers and all those trade and technical skills that exist in Grand Bahama came out of that development."

Mr Turnquest continued: "We anticipate the same kind of effect on East End residents and on Grand Bahama as a whole, with respect to this project as they take advantage of training opportunities and experience opportunities to develop new careers and to expand their careers based upon the training that they already had from these facilities and what they've gone on to do since then.

"(East End is a) very beautiful area, very pristine, and we certainly want to protect that, but we also want to ensure that we create opportunities for (those) residents, and for the island of Grand Bahama, and by extension the Bahamas, into areas that are non-traditional, that will help us to diversify this economy."

When asked to pinpoint what local resources will be used in development, Mr Turnquest said the government wishes to use local technical and industrial skills.

He added: "To the extent that there are local materials that can be used in the construction, we certainly want to take advantage of that.

"We know that there are Bahamians who possess unique talents, have access to products and techniques, and we want to make sure that we encourage any foreign direct investment that may enter this country to utilise those to the max, so that we retain as much as we can locally of the investment dollar, and we build up the expertise, the experiences, of our local tradespeople so that they can then turn around and export that skill to other countries that may be doing some other kind of projects."

In terms of benefits to the Grand Bahama economy, Mr Turnquest said: "The promoters of the investment have projected up to 1,200 people to be involved in the construction, 600 permanent jobs thereafter. So if you do the math…it's a very significant opportunity."

Meanwhile, when asked about the government's plan to offer low-cost lots to prospective homeowners, Mr Turnquest said the government is working hard to ensure everyone has the opportunity to own their own home.

"Particularly…we are working on the inner-city to create real opportunities for development in these areas, so that these Bahamians have an opportunity to have a good quality of life in their indigenous communities, and create sustainable economic opportunities as a result in a safe environment.

"This is a multi-faceted project. We're looking at it in a very holistic way."

Mr Turnquest also dismissed concerns that these properties will only be located in urban areas.

He said: "We are looking at a country-wide approach to this. In New Providence,we're looking at an island-wide approach.

"The government still has ownership of some Crown land areas that it's able to develop, and we're looking at those to be a part of this programme, to ensure again we give opportunities for a diverse group of housing options, in as much of…New Providence as (possible)."

When asked if there are any commercial options in the land deal, Mr Turnquest replied: "It's primarily focused around residential, but I'm sure that as you build communities, the private sector will take advantage of the opportunity to create entrepreneurial opportunities for themselves."

When pressed about zoning, Mr Turnquest said the matter is not in his portfolio. However, he said: "(Personally) I certainly do hope we would create some zoning laws around these neighbourhoods to assure that we create liveable communities with all of the commercial infrastructure that is necessary to make a complete community."