business@tribunemedia.net
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2023
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PI project concern over ‘compelling opportunity’ VAUGHN ROBERTS
• Royal Beach Club could impact Club Med site plans • Atlantis executive also warns on downtown fall-out • Denies Royal Caribbean competition driving worry
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A SENIOR Atlantis executive yesterday warned that concerns over Royal Caribbean’s Paradise Island project could harm downtown Nassau’s revival and “the most compelling real estate opportunity in The Bahamas” if not resolved. Vaughn Roberts, senior vice-president of government affairs and special
ROYAL CARIBBEAN’S ROYAL BEACH CLUB CONCEPT
Atlantis urges ‘more robust’ EIA from Royal Caribbean A SENIOR Atlantis executive yesterday urged Royal Caribbean to tackle “head on” the concerns raised over its $100m Paradise Island beach club by providing “a more robust” Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Vaughn Roberts, senior vice-president of government affairs and special projects, told Tribune Business that its faith in The
Bahamas’ environmental approvals process had been somewhat restored after both the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister last week pledged that the Royal Beach Club will not proceed without being subject to proper regulatory scrutiny. He revealed that the mega resort’s confidence in the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) process had been shaken after the 28 questions it submitted following the first Royal
By FAY SIMMONS jsimmons@ tribunemedia.net
Beach Club public consultation went unanswered for almost 18 months since the first EIA was discussed in October 2021. The Atlantis executive told this newspaper that critical answers are now needed over whether the cruise giant’s plans call for the shoreline and beach on western Paradise Island to be changed or expanded, and if structures such as jetties and piers will be constructed on them and extend into Nassau Harbour.
This, Mr Roberts warned, could have unintended consequences for other Paradise Island beaches and those on New Providences northern shore, and he urged the Government to ensure Royal Caribbean puts in place the necessary funding and structures to cover any remediation work that may become necessary. Other critical issues for Atlantis involve how its potential near-neighbour
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THE Bahamian entrepreneur seeking to invest $2m to restore Paradise Island’s lighthouse was yesterday invited by the Prime Minister to reapply for government approval of his project. Philip Davis KC said he had asked Toby Smith to submit a fresh application after Chief Justice Ian Winder ruled last month
that he did not have a valid and binding Crown Land lease for five acres of land that would facilitate his project in the Colonial Beach area. “The court has ruled that he had no interest in the land and I’ve invited him to, if he is still interested, to reapply for consideration of the Government of his project and we await his application,” Mr Davis said of Mr Smith. The latter declined to comment when contacted by
Tribune Business yesterday, but it is thought that reapplying could undermine and cut across his prospects of appealing the Chief Justice’s ruling to the Court of Appeal. In addition, Mr Smith’s project had been approved by the former Minnis administration and was only awaiting the Crown Land leases to proceed. Given that Royal Caribbean has reduced its
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Gas station operator’s relief faith ‘now 120%’ By FAY SIMMONS and NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Reporters A GAS station operator yesterday said his faith was now “120 percent” restored over the Government’s intention to provide relief for the sector’s plight following Monday’s meeting with the Prime Minister. Vasco Bastian, the Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association’s (BPRA) vice-president, told
environmental approvals process for Royal Caribbean’s project. Mr Roberts, meanwhile, told this newspaper that the Government will also likely have to address the additional congestion in an already-crowded Nassau Harbour caused by the ferries and other vessels transporting passengers, staff, supplies and other commodities to a Royal Beach Club that will be inaccessible overland by road. There is also the likelihood that solid, and potentially other forms of waste, will have to be removed from the site be boat on a daily basis. The increased vessel traffic, Mr Roberts argued, could impact marina development plans on both the
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Tribune Business he was “100 percent confident” that the Davis administration will deliver on long-promised assistance for the industry after a meeting he described as “reassuring”. “It was just the fact that the conversation went in the right direction,” he explained. “I believe in the Prime Minister, I believe the Prime Minister believes in small and medium-sized businesses, and he’s demonstrated that
over the years. The conversation was very reassuring. He understands our concerns, he understands our plight, and is much more sympathetic than the previous administration as regards our industry. “We’re very, very happy. I’m proud to be a small and medium-sized businessman now, and proud to be a Bahamian. My faith never wavered per se. My faith was at 75-80 percent, but now it’s at 120 percent. It’s what we needed. We
• Minister: First step towards ‘one tax rate for all’ • OECD’s initial move just ‘a crack in the door’ • But won’t cause financial services to ‘flee’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
PM says PI’s lighthouse developer must reapply
PHILIP DAVIS KC
projects, said the mega resort and its owner, Brookfield Asset Management, would likely cease working on development plans for the 50-acre former Club Med property if environmental (see other article on Page 1B) and other issues surrounding the cruise line’s recently-approved Royal Beach Club are not addressed to the mutual satisfaction of all. The beach break destination, located opposite Nassau Cruise Port, would be in close proximity to a site that Atlantis/Brookfield are thought to be eyeing for high-end residential and other real estate options. Several hundred partying cruise passengers may not be a good fit for such plans, while Atlantis also has multiple environmental misgivings it wants addressed via the
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Bahamas could gain $140m from 15% minimum taxation
ATLANTIS RESORT AND CASINO
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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always go into discussions, and have dialogue, with people that are in charge, that understand you, understand your plight. “The Prime Minister was very accommodating and that goes well with our confidence level. We’re business persons, we’re Bahamians and we’re trying to keep the wheels of the economy moving. He understands that. We’ll talk in two weeks.” Mr
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THE Bahamas could earn $140m in revenue from the global tax crackdown on major multinationals, a Cabinet minister disclosed yesterday, while suggesting the initiative is the first step towards “one tax rate for all”. Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, told a panel discussion at the annual RF Economic Outlook conference that the G-7/OECD-led push to levy a minimum 15 percent corporate income tax worldwide by 2024 was merely “a crack in the door” that is intended to ultimately lead to the harmonisation of tax systems and rates. “The reality we face, beginning in 2024, is that multinational enterprises with revenue of 750m euros or higher will be subject to a minimum tax rate of 15 percent or higher in jurisdictions in which they operate,” he said, explaining that the initiative was
MICHAEL HALKITIS designed to prevent “a race to the bottom” on global tax rates while also halting tax avoidance and evasion by corporate conglomerates. The Bahamas, despite having no history of income or corporate taxes, is among 138 nations that in July 2021 signed on to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) inclusive framework that underpins the minimum tax drive and commits signatories to implementing it. “The potential uptick for The Bahamas could be $140m annually,” Mr
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