business@tribunemedia.net
TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2023
$5.74
$5.74
Cruise port’s chair eyes ‘missing 10%’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE chair of Nassau Cruise Port’s ultimate parent says he is “90 percent-plus satisfied” with its $322.5m transformation as he waits to see it drive increased visitor spend and more passengers exiting their vessels. Mehmet Kutman, Global Ports Holding’s chairman, told Tribune Business these promised impacts represent the “missing 10 percent” as he hailed the group’s Nassau investment for establishing it as a major cruise port operator in the Western Hemisphere. Describing the Bahamian capital as “a true number one”, and the company’s “biggest by far investment wise” to-date, he added that a key objective was to “integrate Bahamians with
• Global Ports chief awaiting visitor spend impac • ‘90-plus % satisfied’ with $322.5m transformation • Downtown revival critical as ‘all will die otherwise’
PRIME Minister Philip Davis addresses attendeess of the Nassau Cruise Port opening ceremony.
the port and the cruise passenger” in such a way that the economic impact is felt at the grassroots “Mom and pop” store level. Expressing hope that Nassau will break the 5m cruise passenger visitor mark in 2024, Mr Kutman said he was also confident in Prime Minister Philip Davis’ pledge to revive Bay Street and wider downtown as neither the city nor the cruise port can succeed without the other flourishing. “This is 90 percent-plus of my expectation,” the Global Ports chief said during Friday’s official Nassau Cruise Port opening. “However, I keep dreaming, keep envisioning what we can do now. This [Junkanoo] museum is 100 percent; it’s even
SEE PAGE B6
Gas stations: We Sir Franklyn’s won’t be ‘paupers’ developer in $7.5m battle with MIT chair •
Push for 30 cent margin increase despite Gov't stance
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
PETROLEUM retailers say they refuse to become “paupers” as they intensify demands for a 30 cent per gallon margin increase which they have been seeking to obtain from the Government since April 2022. The Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association (BPRA), in a statement issued on behalf of its members, said it has been negotiating an adjustment in the gasoline and diesel margins with the Davis administration for the past 13 months despite the Government’s public stance that it will not agree to such an increase because it would also raise the cost of fuel for motorists and businesses. However, in contrast to that position, which was reaffirmed by Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, last week, the Association asserted it first agreed to wait for global oil - and, by extension, fuel - prices to drop from their Ukraine invasion peak before any margin changes were implemented. It then said it was “advised” in November 2022 that the Government had agreed to alter the fixed margin regime to a percentage based on the landed cost of fuel
SEE PAGE B7
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SIR Franklyn Wilson’s Eleuthera Properties is locked in a legal battle with Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) chairman emeritus over the latter’s bid to exit his $7.5m investment in the Bahamian developer. Justice Deborah Fraser, in a May 26, 2023, ruling granted Robert B Millard’s demand that Eleuthera Properties make “further and better disclosure” of all conveyances, sales agreements and appraisals involving real estate in the Jack’s Bay development dating between 2007 and 2018. Jack’s Bay recently celebrated the ground-breaking for its $20m, 18-hole golf course by Nicklaus Design to complement the existing nine-hole variety designed by Tiger Woods’ firm, and the valuation of the south Eleuthera development’s lots lies at the heart of the dispute between Mr Millard and Eleuthera Properties.
SIR FRANKLYN WILSON Sir Franklyn, chairman of Eleuthera Properties and Jack’s Bay, told Tribune Business he was aware of Justice Fraser’s ruling when contacted yesterday. “We remain confident in our position,” he said. “This is a legal process and we respect the process. We remain confident in our position. I’m aware of the judgment. I’m taking the advice of counsel and we’re going to act on it.” Confirming that Mr Millard is indeed the MIT Corporation’s chairman, Sir Franklyn added: “This isn’t the first time we’ve had to defend ourselves against him. He’s a wealthy man, but he’s a man, and we’ve had to defend ourselves against him previously.” Mr Millard’s biography confirms his background as a prominent US citizen. Besides the MIT Corporation involvement, he is also named as a director of Evercore, an international investment bank,
SEE PAGE B4
$5.74
$5.95
‘Huge lift’: Land free-up for Bay Street’s revival • Ex-minister: Cut corridor from East St to Dowdeswell • Nassau must ‘figure out how to create buzz and life’ • Admits ‘fingers crossed’ on wider cruise port impact By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A FORMER tourism minister yesterday admitted that reviving downtown Nassau is “a huge lift” that would require “cutting” a corridor from East Street through to Dowdeswell Street to free-up land for redevelopment. Dionisio D’Aguilar, who held the post under the Minnis administration, told Tribune Business that such an undertaking would be fraught with difficulties including land title “complications” and the competing interests of existing property owners and businesses. However, he argued that Bay Street had to be “pushed south” because there was simply insufficient land between the road and the ocean to develop high-rise residences, retail and other
DIONISIO D’AGUILAR attractions and amenities that would transform downtown Nassau into a true destination capable of attracting locals and tourists alike well into the evening. Acknowledging that the city is effectively deserted after 5pm, Mr D’Aguilar added that The Bahamas “has to figure out how to create this buzz and life downtown”. While successive administrations have
SEE PAGE B8