The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis was very impressed with his tour on Friday of the former Ginn Development in West End, Grand Bahama, where the new investors plan to build a 120-room hotel and the first ever mega-yacht facility in The Bahamas.

Dr Minnis also said the investors propose to complete development of the private airport terminal facility on the property.

Skyline Investment, a Toronto-based real estate investor/developer, has purchased the property. They met with residents at a town meeting in West End.

"It is an excellent project," the prime minister said. "They are going to open a 120-room hotel, complete the airport that is on the property now by building a new FBO terminal and developing a 24-slip mega-yacht facility. These (yachts) are 300ft and have at least 25 to 30 staff members."

Dr Minnis indicated that some 100 to 200 persons would be hired, and stressed West End residents would have first preference.

"What I explained to them is that since this project is in the West End community, they should have the first choice in terms of job opportunities, not Freeport, not East End," he said.

The prime minister was surprised by the size of the development and how much infrastructure work had already been done.

"When I saw the infrastructure and the concrete roads, drains, the elevation, and landscaping that was previously done, I was amazed at the amount of work. Ginn would have spent hundreds of millions putting in all the infrastructure," he stated.

Although Dr Minnis did not want to give a timeline of when the development would be finished, he assured that the investors are very committed. He said: "I do not want to give an exact timeline at this particular time until we have released the proper heads of agreement so that the Bahamian public can see the exact scope of the project and an exact number of employees.

"With such a project and the mega-yacht concept that is coming in, there is no such project within The Bahamas. All mega-yachts are docked in the Florida area. So these mega-yachts would be home-based here, and that would be a great opportunity for the West End community," Dr Minnis said.

Derek Gape, construction manager at Skyline Investments, said: "I don't think they have ever been here before; they were quite surprised of the size of it and the amount of work that has been done previously. The PM reiterated that we take care of West End first, and that's what we intend to do. Anyone in West End that needs a job will have a job, and that has to happen first before we look outside of the West End."

West Grand Bahama and Bimini MP Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe is very excited about the project and looks forward to its completion.

"We have been discussing this project for quite some time now. Residents of West Grand Bahama welcome it, and we are happy to know it is moving forward and going to come to fruition," she said.

While in Grand Bahama, the prime minister also met with party members at the FNM's headquarters in Freeport on Friday evening. The meeting was closed to the press.