By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Senior Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
CARNIVAL Corporation’s investment in Grand Bahama, already its largest in the region, has doubled in size and may grow even more by the time the details are finalised, an official said.
When Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis hosted the heads of agreement signing for the project last September, the investment was worth over $100m and promised to boost Grand Bahama’s ailing economy. Now the investment is worth at least $200m after Carnival added additional features, including an inland waterway, Senior Vice President of Global Port and Destination Development Giora Israel said yesterday.
His comments came to Bahamian reporters at the company’s headquarters in Miami yesterday.
He said Carnival has submitted an environment impact assessment to the relevant bodies and is discussing it with the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the Bahamas Environment Science & Technology Commission (BEST).
Construction is scheduled to begin in the early summer, according to David Candib, vice-president of development and operations. He said up to 1,000 locals will be employed during the construction phase and between 500 and 1,000 will be employed during operations.
Mr Candib said about 480,000 guests visit Grand Bahama each year on Carnival ships. Officials project that this number will soar to at least one million within the first year of the port coming into operation.
The Carnival project will be built on 329 acres and will be capable of docking two of Carnival’s largest vessels at once––its Mardi Gras brand of ships which are currently under construction.
Amenities will be blended into Bahamian designs and cultural elements, Mr Candib said.
Christine Duffy, the president of Carnival Cruise Line, the subsidiary company that will use Grand Bahama’s new port the most, said the company’s commitment to the island never wavered despite Hurricane Dorian’s impact.
“We see it as a partnership that is important and we want to be there no matter what,” she said. “Hurricanes aren’t new. Obviously this one was devastating for the Bahamas which for us meant even more quickly what could we do to provide support first and foremost to the people of Grand Bahama and making sure we are able to bring supplies and food and whatever was needed by ship as quickly as we needed so we never once questioned amongst ourselves that we wouldn’t continue with the project.”
Comments
TimesUp 4 years, 10 months ago
"Carnival has submitted an environment impact assessment"
How could this ever be a safe thing for the environment. It will have a terrible impact to the islands environment.
It has somehow received the backing of our environmentalists which is troubling to say the least.
Because the people of Grand Bahama are so desperate for any investment this will undoubtably be given the green light.
If this project follows the norm on the island what will we end up with? Once the land is cleared and filled in and the ocean is dredged and the canals are cut i hope it won't just fizzle out!
proudloudandfnm 4 years, 10 months ago
What makes you think this will be bad for the environment?
And what do you want from us? We need this, desperately.
I'm really tired of environmentalists shooting EVERYTHING down as though any project whatsoever will destroy our lives. You people need to chill. Life must go on....
TimesUp 4 years, 10 months ago
Well for starters.
Cruise ships are terrible for the environment.
If you have ever been to the proposed site you would have seen it is very unique and you would have noticed that to build the proposed development will require major work to fill the site.
"And what do you want from us?" I assume you must be from the government and if so i want.
A real quick, easy change for Freeport by....
Promotion and ease of set up for small foreign companies and less reliance on mega investments.
liberal, blanket easy access immigration for business owners.
Open, transparent and across the board incentives for those foreign businesses to set up shop and hire local.
Hoda 4 years, 10 months ago
Oh a real quick ease change.... incentives....thats all it takes.
Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 10 months ago
Wow! Carnival says their Grand Bahama proposal has doubled. Does this mean Grand Bahamians can now expect to have twice the usual amount of shiite dumped by Carnival's cruise ships in the waters around Grand Bahama?
ThisIsOurs 4 years, 10 months ago
It's interesting the carnival spokesperson said those discharges occured because they didn't understand the territorial boundaries of the Bahamas. Wow. That's says a couple of things...they were doing this routinely, more than even the court evidence revealed they just weren't caught. Secondly the court evidence revealed they tried to cover up the discharges signifying that they were well aware of the territorial boundaries. Thd judge called them "serial recidivists".
Hoda 4 years, 10 months ago
I think it says that every ship is doing it, in his television interview he referred to international practice which is to dump 3 nm outside territorial waters... if that is so, given that we are a transshipment route many ships have potentially guilty but obviously not all are caught and certainly not alll our carnval corp who we know has money. Further more many of us are sea farers, when i go out i dont often think about what happens when i flush the toilet on the boat, and i know i see beer bottles cans, garbage floating around on occasion, is that any less egregious
ThisIsOurs 4 years, 10 months ago
he said they didn't know where the territorial boundaries were. But that belies the documents revealed in court where in emails and on multiple occasions they were trying to cover up the discharges . Again the judge on the case referred to them as serial recidivists.
ThisIsOurs 4 years, 10 months ago
I hope our solution to their dunping wasnt to firce thdm to invest more in assets they would own.
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