The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said the Nassau Cruise Port deal the Minnis administration executed is one the Davis administration has to live with.

“It’s a deal done by the previous administration,” he told reporters before a Cabinet meeting.

“There are opinions being expressed as to the goodness or badness of it. My view from my position where I sit is governments are continuous. We have to live with it, and we have to make the best out of it.”

Immigration Minister Keith Bell called the deal the worst in Bahamian history during his budget communication in the House of Assembly last week.

Mr Bell said the Minnis administration executed a bad lease agreement, claiming the country would lose “hundreds of millions of dollars” in revenue for at least 27 years due to the investment.

The port disputed his claims of lost revenue.

Days later, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, the Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, said during his 2023/2024 Budget presentation that the port was a “stunning achievement” that officials are happy to have at the country’s “most popular entryway”.

In 2019, the Minnis administration arranged a 25-year-long lease with Global Ports Holdings valued at $250m for the management and development of the Nassau Cruise Port.