The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

NASSAU Cruise Port’s top executive is urging the government to establish COVID-19 policies for essential personnel as existing restrictions create “a material impact” on its $250m redevelopment project.

Michael Maura, its chief executive, told Tribune Business that Prince George Wharf’s redevelopment has lost “a week or two’s” worth of construction because high-level expatriate personnel are presently required to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arriving in The Bahamas.

That requirement is set to be eliminated on November 1 in favour of more rapid and frequent testing, but Mr Maura said clarity and an easing of the restrictions was required now - especially if these persons were able to produce a negative PCR test within the allowed time restrictions and complied with the health visa condition.

Pointing out that the presence of such expatriate personnel was essential to put more Bahamians to work, he explained: “The lockdowns and the quarantine have had a material impact on the project. What we have asked is the government please allow some consideration for senior level construction personnel.

“We have had people fly in and quarantine who cannot work on the project. It is just slowing things down. All of the manual labour is going to be Bahamian, but we’re talking about the technical expertise of people we have to bring in. These are the people we need and who make decisions.

“The decision-making process around the project is delayed by the impact of the COVID-19 requirements. Has it stopped the project? No. Has it slowed the project down? Yes. It has cost us a week or two, but every day counts.”

Mr Maura said that, given the position that the government has adopted to facilitate tourism’s November 1 re-opening with the emphasis on testing, there was no reason why “the same cannot apply to a limited number of national projects”.

He added: “We’re not talking 1,000; we’re talking about 30, and we’re asking that they be permitted to get to work. We should establish what the protocol is for essential personnel, communicate it and be accountable for it, but we have to move essential personnel into the country and allow them to get to work.

“When you put them to work you have a direct relationship between their work and the employment of Bahamians.”