The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has called on his predecessor to explain the proposed pricing for the Prospect Ridge housing lots, telling Parliament the sum was insufficient to cover the estimated price tag of infrastructure for the development.

Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced in March that his administration planned to allow people between the ages of 18 and 45 to buy 95x100 feet lots for a maximum cost of $50,000.

The Prospect Ridge community was to have approximately 300 lots. Forty percent of the lots were to be multi-family properties available at a cost of $50,000 while 60 percent of the lots were to be single-family properties, sold for $40,000.

Mr Davis questioned yesterday how Dr Minnis came up with this price, as the project would have cost Bahamians an estimated $15m to ensure the needed infrastructure was in place.

By The Tribune’s calculations, the project would have to be fully subscribed at a cost of $50,000 per lot to have amounted to the $15m it would cost to install the needed infrastructure.

Mr Davis did not reveal yesterday whether there were other costs associated with the development of the subdivision for young professionals.

“At some point the member for Killarney will have to explain how he came up with the price for these lots when there was no analysis done of the cost of the infrastructure,” Mr Davis said as he presented his administration’s 2021/2022 Supplementary Budget.

“Our initial review of the project revealed that the development would cost the Bahamian people approximately $15m and the collective price of the lots do not cover the estimated cost of the infrastructure.

“Perhaps Prospect Ridge was merely a distraction or a campaign ploy, without a real or sincere intention to see it through. It is difficult otherwise to understand the basic lack of analysis and cost projections.”

The project has been a hot button topic and the subject of scrutiny since the Davis administration took office.

Earlier this month, Transport and Housing Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis branded the proposed Prospect Ridge subdivision for young professionals an “election ploy”, while revealing a key government department questioned various aspects of the proposed development.

As she reiterated that critical steps were absent from the process, the minister said the “indisputable facts” were that proper protocols and procedures were ignored to advance the project – the brainchild of Dr Minnis.

She made the comments in the House of Assembly earlier this month before tabling the Department of Environmental Planning & Protection’s response to an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the housing development, which was ultimately rejected due to major questions that arose.