The Tribune

• Cruise line has all approvals for Lighthouse Point

• Eleuthera eyes $1bn investment in next decade

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Disney Cruise Line yesterday revealed it is near-tripling the number of construction jobs created by its Lighthouse Point project to 300 amid hopes that Eleuthera can attract up to $1bn in total investment over the next decade.

Joey Gaskins, Disney’s regional public affairs director for The Bahamas and Caribbean, told the Eleuthera Business Outlook conference that it planned to go well beyond the 120 construction jobs it “promised” the Government in the Heads of Agreement for the development on the island’s southern tip.

The cruise line committed, as part of that deal, that a minimum 80 percent of the construction jobs will go to Bahamians and - if it holds to that pledge - then at least 240 of the expanded 300-strong workforce will be recruited locally. Mr Gaskins said Disney’s “design/build” main contractor for the project, American Bridge, has already set up an Eleuthera office in the Symonette Enterprises building and held a March 5 job fair that drew 170 attendees.

“We promised 120 jobs in our Heads of Agreement,” Mr Gaskins said. “We’re exceeding that now. We are actually looking at 300 construction jobs, more than double the amount originally promised, which we’re very excited about.” He added that Disney now possesses all the necessary approvals to begin development of its cruise passenger destination, with the latest design reducing the project’s ‘built’ footprint from 20 percent to covering just 16 percent of the 760-acre site.

“We promised not to do a bit of construction until this was approved by the Government, and we kept that promise,” Mr Gaskins said. “Our Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was probably the most comprehensive EIA done in Bahamian history for a project of this kind.....

“We have all the necessary approvals right now to begin construction on the project, particularly for landside works. Government has also approved test pile work on the marine side. We expect to be done [complete with construction] in 2024.”

Disney’s transformation of Lighthouse Point was the largest Eleuthera-focused investment cited yesterday by the island’s Chamber of Commerce president, Thomas Sands. He told the same conference: “It is my opinion that Eleuthera will see close to $1bn in investments over the next five to ten years or exceed that.

“These investments to come include Disney. We have the Ritz-Carlton development, which has been approved. We hope to learn more, and hope to partner with Cotton Bay Holdings and Marriott over their Ritz-Carlton brand in future.”

Mr Sands said the cruise industry will “play a major part in the development of Eleuthera”. Besides Disney, which has pledged to invest between $250m to $400m, he explained that he had also included Holland America’s plans to inject some $80m-$100m in upgrading Half Moon Cay in his $1bn total investment projection as the private cruise island was serviced by Eleuthera with employees and supplies.

The Eleuthera Chamber chief also referenced the development of a private club on north Windermere Island, which lies just off Eleuthera’s coast on the Atlantic side. “In the future we hope to learn more and hear about North Windermere. We understand they are real and they are viable,” Mr Sands added.

Describing the vacation rental market as “the backbone” of mainland Eleuthera’s economy for the past ten to 20 years, he called on all island residents and businesses to “put our very best foot forward” in “creating the destination we wish Eleuthera to be”.

However, much of the Disney and Half Moon Cay investment is likely to represent the cost of constructing offshore piers and walkways to accommodate their cruise ships and passenger access. And the Cotton Bay Holdings project, spearheaded by Colombian billionaire, Dr Luis Carlos Sarmiento, has struggled to progress in the 25 years since it first emerged in the mid-1990s.

With Disney’s project closest to coming to fruition, Mr Gaskins yesterday said the cruise line aimed to “create sustainable economic opportunities, not just jobs, celebrating Bahamian culture and strength”. He added that the development’s ‘built’ footprint has currently been reduced from 20 percent to 16 percent of Lighthouse Point’s total land. Around 59 percent will be left undeveloped, with the remaining 25 percent - 190 acres worth $6.29m - donated to the Government.

“We’ve committed to up to $400m in investment,” the Disney executive added. “The biggest chunk of investment is about ensuring that we do not destroy the environment, but enhancing it and protecting it.” Besides pledging to create up to 150 full-time jobs once operations begin at Lighthouse Point, Mr Gaskins added that Disney had sought no tax breaks or investment incentives beyond those granted to similar developments.

Acknowledging that liability insurance could be too steep a hurdle for Bahamian vendors and attraction and excursion providers to overcome, he said Disney was working on an initiative to assist small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs0 in addressing this.

“We understand the insurance issue is a big one,” Mr Gaskins conceded. “Liability insurance can be expensive, especially for small businesses. We are working on a programme to mitigate that so you do not have to disengage from us because you cannot afford liability insurance.”

Reiterating previous Disney promises that Bahamian and public access to Lighthouse Point will continue once the project is completed, he added that space would be made available on-site for vendors of authentic Bahamian retail goods, while local seafood and agricultural products plus entertainment will also be promoted.

As previously reported by Tribune Business, a rival proposal for Lighthouse Point, backed by the One Eleuthera Foundation and Bahamas National Trust,  had little chance of succeeding as Disney had already reached agreement to purchase the land from its private owner.

However, this has not stopped environmental activists from challenging the economic benefits of Disney’s deal, given that its cruise ships pre-COVID each generated multi-million dollar sums annually. Yet the GDP impact from Lighthouse Point was estimated at $805m or $32.2m annually over 25 years.

Disney, in response, previously said the $355m in extra tax revenue that the development is projected to generate over a 25-year period exceeds the value of the concessions it has received from the Government, although it has provided no figure for the latter.

Mr Gaskins yesterday said he was pushing “internally” for Disney to make the workforce at its other Bahamian destination, Castaway Cay, 100 percent Bahamian. He added that Disney makes an annual $70m contribution to Bahamian gross domestic product (GDP), and promotes 40 local tours to its guests without taking any of the revenue away from local operators.