The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

ACTIVISTS have launched a petition urging the Government, Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and relevant regulators to halt Bahama Rock’s proposed near-270 acre expansion of Freeport Harbour and prevent “irreversible excavation, blasting, dredging” and other impacts until a full evaluation has taken place.

The change.org petition, instigated several days ago by a group called Bahamas Alliance for Change, has launched just days ahead of this week’s Town Hall meeting and public consultation on a development billed as vital to enabling Bahama Rock to maintain its 84-strong workforce and annual $25m economic impact in Grand Bahama.

Calling for a halt to any approvals and permits until the proposal has been “independently and comprehensively evaluated”, the petition asserts that the Bahamas Alliance for Change is not opposed to development but arguing “for better development”.

It adds: “Freeport Harbour and the surrounding communities, coastline, forests, groundwater systems, marine habitats and public recreational areas face a decision that could permanently alter this part of Grand Bahama.

“Bahama Rock is seeking approval for a proposed harbour expansion and aggregate mining project involving approximately 269.39 acres of the former Bahamas Cement Company property at Southwest Point. The Government’s public consultation notice confirms that the proposal involves excavating aggregates to create additional turning basins and deep water berths in Freeport Harbour. 

“We are calling for the ‘current mining proposal not to be approved in its present form’, and for no irreversible excavation, blasting, dredging or destruction of natural habitat to proceed until the Bahamian people can be satisfied that the environmental, social and economic consequences have been independently and comprehensively evaluated.”

The petition said the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA), crafted by Bahamian consultancy, Bron Ltd, “itself identifies serious reasons for concern”, and added: “Bahama Rock’s environmental impact assessment describes an extraction operation that could continue for approximately 15 to 20 years and involve land clearing, blasting, aggregate extraction and dredging.”

It added that the disclosed “ecologically important pineland habitat will be removed”, and said: “The pinelands on the property represent some of the last intact pineland sites on Grand Bahama, and their loss would represent a considerable loss to the island’s terrestrial biodiversity. Approximately 132,483 protected trees and shrubs were estimated within the surveyed area…

“Hard corals presently growing along the western harbour boundary would be removed and some would require relocation. Economically important marine species, including bonefish, occur in the area. Geotechnical drilling encountered what was described as a cave and cavern underground.

“Lovers Beach, the Boiling Hole and nearby Eight Mile Rock communities fall within the broader area potentially influenced by the project. These are not speculative concerns raised only by opponents; they are issues identified within the project’s own environmental documentation. Before we excavate it, we must know what we are giving up,” the petition added.

“Once hundreds of acres of Bahamian limestone, forest, habitat and geological structure are excavated below sea level and converted into a harbour basin, that landscape cannot simply be restored. That makes this fundamentally different from an ordinary development decision.

“Before approving, the public deserves answers to a much larger question. Is extracting the rock actually the highest and best long-term use of this strategic harbour-edge property for Grand Bahama and The Bahamas? We believe that question has not yet been adequately answered.”

As a result, the petition is calling for “a full independent environmental audit of Bahama Rock’s” existing operations and environmental record, including historical blasting and excavations, plus an analysis that accounts for the collective impact of existing and future Freeport Harbour operations as well as industrial activities such as quarrying.

It also urged that alternatives be analysed and a west Freeport Harbour development plan produced, adding: “The Bahamas should know what Freeport Harbour is intended to become over the next 25, 50 and 100 years before permanently excavating strategic waterfront land….

“The decision should compare the economic value of extracting aggregate against the potential value of preserving and developing this land for higher-value industries, logistics, research, technology, tourism, recreation, conservation, housing, innovation and other sustainable economic opportunities.

“Grand Bahama has substantial previously disturbed, abandoned, and under-utilised industrial land. Responsible development should prioritise restoration, remediation and redevelopment before sacrificing additional natural habitat wherever practicable,” the petition added. “There is an opportunity here to transform deteriorated industrial property into productive land without automatically accepting large-scale extraction as the only - or best - economic future.

“Development should leave Grand Bahama more valuable, not merely more excavated. We must evaluate value differently. Not simply: ‘How much rock can be removed?’ but ‘what can this land generate for Bahamians over the next century?’ Jobs matter. Investment matters. Freeport Harbour matters.

“But so do our freshwater resources, coastline, beaches, forests, biodiversity, fisheries, communities, climate resilience and the inheritance we leave future generations. Economic development and environmental stewardship are not mutually exclusive. Properly designed, they reinforce one another. Our position is straightforward: Do not approve irreversible mining first and ask the larger development questions later.”

The project’s EIA, completed in October 2024, details Bahama Rock’s ambitions to excavate and quarry aggregates from a large section of the 515-acre former Bahamas Cement Company property that it now poised to acquire. Once sufficient material is extracted, a new turning basin and “deep-water berths” will be created to facilitate greater use of Freeport Harbour and its value as an economic asset.

The proposal by Bahama Rock, which is owned by Martin Marietta, the multinational aggregates, asphalt and ready-mixed concrete supplier, will be subjected to public scrutiny at Wednesday’s consultation set for the Foster B. Pestaina Centre as part of the process for obtaining certificates of environmental clearance (CECs) and other key approvals.

While the EIA is now almost two years old, the meeting signals that Bahama Rock is now poised to pull the trigger on plans that will sustain its presence in Freeport for some years to come. No timeline was provided for when aggregate mining will be completed, and Freeport Harbour expanded, although the company confirmed that the Bahama Cement Company purchase hinges on it obtaining all mining, environmental and other necessary regulatory approvals.

The move coincides with increased economic activity and investment directly related to Freeport Harbour, which is 50/50 owned by Hutchison Whampoa and the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) Port Group Ltd affiliate. Besides the arrival of the Grand Bahama Shipyard’s two dry docks, and continued growth at the Container Port, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is investing $450m at Billy Cay to expand the Harbour’s cruise berths together with a beach club and upgraded retail village.