The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister yesterday confirmed his plans to outsource Junkanoo Beach’s management to the private sector have been overtaken by the Prime Minister’s “grander vision” for the area.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business that the bidding process to take over the West Bay Street location had been placed on hold as Dr Hubert Minnis unveiled his plans to transform the whole Arawak Cay location into the Nassau Entertainment District.

While the Prime Minister’s plans are still at the concept stage, and details such as financing and management have yet to be worked out, Mr D’Aguilar said he had “stepped back” from his Junkanoo Beach plans to allow the Government’s expanded plans to move forward.

“The Prime Minister has sought to expand Junkanoo Beach from what we all know it to be all the way down, and encompassing the area on its way down, to Fish Fry,” Mr D’Aguilar added.

“He’s fleshed out how he would like it to be designed, and hired some architects to conceptually design the area.

“I think we’ve stepped back from my vision, which was to look at Junkanoo Beach and how that area would be improved by upgrading its attractiveness to Bahamians and foreign visitors.

“We’ve stepped back from my vision and plan, which was focused more on the Ministry of Tourism managing Junkanoo Beach. I felt a private sector entity coming in would invest, upgrade and improve the overall experience. Mine was focused on just that.”

Confirming that the tender process initiated by the Ministry of Tourism last year had been halted as a result, Mr D’Aguilar added that the Prime Minister’s plan - involving a sky bridge across West Bay Street and tax-free zones to encourage investment by Bahamian entrepreneurs and businessmen - was “a lot more all-encompassing” than his idea.

“Mine was a little more focused on one area, and he took a grander view of it,” he said. “It’s a wonderful idea to revitalise and upgrade and transform it into a lovely promenade for visitors and Bahamians to enjoy incredible sights and scenes from that spot. It’s a much more visionary and expansive scope. It’s pretty exciting.”

Dr Minnis’s plans still provide for traditional cook-outs and Junkanoo practices by the Saxons, while incorporating Fort Charlotte and Clifford Park into the design.

Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business back in January that the Minnis Cabinet will “certainly” receive a recommendation in the 2019 first quarter on which of three bids was best-suited to take over Junkanoo Beach and invest “millions” in its upgrade.

Describing the area as “kind of run down and tacky” in comparison to other elements of The Bahamas’ tourism product, Mr D’Aguilar argued that this nation had failed to maximise the potential economic benefits from Junkanoo Beach’s location near the heart of downtown Nassau and its cruise port.

He said then that a private sector operator, working with existing vendors and businesses to enhance standards and develop new attractions, would be better-placed than the Ministry of Tourism to extract greater spending by the thousands of cruise passengers and stopover visitors that already visit the area.

Tribune Business subsequently revealed that John Bostwick II, the attorney and partner at the Bostwick & Bostwick law firm, was involved with one of the bids, while Patrick Rahming, architect and principal of Pat Rahming & Associates, was connected with a rival offer that also featured Brendan Foulkes, brother of Labour Minister Dion Foulkes, who held the Harley Davidson franchise for Nassau.

The third and final bid involved the Bahamas Striping Group of Companies and its affiliates. The group has been frequently held up as the “poster child” for the former Ingraham administration’s self-starter programme, having been founded with one of its $5,000 grants, and made its name in striping parking lots, roads and airports.

It has increasingly been seeking to expand and diversify into other areas, including infrastructure and property management/leasing, and has shown a particular interest in public-private partnership (PPP) contracts put out to tender by the Government.