NASSAU Cruise Port CEO Mike Maura.
By Earyel Bowleg
Tribune Staff Reporter
ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
NASSAU Cruise Port CEO Mike Maura said when the port opens, officials will meet members of the Downtown Nassau Partnership to determine how to beautify Downtown with an $8m investment.
According to an agreement the port has with the government, the $8m must be spent no later than 12 months after the port is open.
“Over a million of it has been spent already in terms of renovating the tourism building that sits to the north end of Rawson Square, converting that into a tourism police station,” he said, adding money was also spent moving vendors into Rawson Square and demolishing old shacks in the vicinity.
Mr Maura admitted that Downtown needs much improvement.
He noted that surveys show Nassau has been ranked second to last in terms of cruise passenger satisfaction. He said in many cases, the “historic city” has been “rotting in front of us”.
“I mean, I’m sorry to say like that, but we have to have more investment coming into the Downtown area,” he said.
“I can tell you this: the fact that the cruise port development exists today there’s going to be a lot more legs in terms of opportunity in terms of what can happen east of East Street.”
“But when you’ve got 4.5 million people landing at the cruise port, it makes the investment justification much better.
Mr Maura addressed concerns some vendors have lacking a spot in the port.
“The government in effect was the landlord so the government had contractual relationships with a number of people,” he said. “We had to rely on government to tell us who these people were. Those are the people that we have engaged.
The port officially opens today.
Comments
ThisIsOurs 1 year, 5 months ago
it will be interesting if tourists dont go further than the port and walk away saying how wonderful the bahamas was. Lol. But I suppose good news is good news.
This view makes it look like an organized Arawak Cay. Dont have to go there anymore! I recall a foreign visitor who came for a work assignment telling me theyd driven to Village Road(?) I said what were you doing all the way there??? They went looking for Menchies.
This is what I envisioned a reorganized PI bridge to look like. Saw something in Barbados that looked like it, beautiful shacks organized around a cultural area. But our govt seems content to let anybody and everybody erect a bunch of ramshackle shacks anywhere these days. Its started at Montagu, it's flourishing on carmichael, quite a number on Prince Charles...
ThisIsOurs 1 year, 5 months ago
Shacks and lean-to's
BONEFISH 1 year, 5 months ago
The next major public-private partnership (PPP) should be Potter's Cay Dock. Potter's Cay is where the mail boats dock. It is desperately needs to be cleaned,modenize and improved There are also fruit,fish and vegetable vendors there. There are also restaurants there. Mike Maura hinted about that in interviews with Candia Dames of the Guardian newspaper.
Bahamians by in large who live on New Providence have no idea what a modern functioning city is. Nassau is not it.They experience and see it when they go aboard to the United States, Canada and Europe
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