The Bahamian leaseholder of Ocean Cay will have “the biggest smiles ever” as a result of the deal that will see Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) take over the island for its $100 million cruise port.

Prime Minister Perry Christie, speaking yesterday at the signing of a Heads of Agreement for the project, said Sandy Cay Development Company, and its principal, Tony Myers, will surrender the 25-year lease they held for sand and aragonite mining on Ocean Cay to the Government.

The Government will now offer a new lease to MSC. “That company, a Bahamian group, would have entered into a relationship  with MSC for the purposes of relinquishing their interests  to MSC,” Mr Christie said of Mr Myers and his group.

“I am sure that they have walked away with the biggest smiles on their faces that they could ever have. I only hope that the Government of the Bahamas benefits as much as they do.”

The proposed Sandy Cay cruise port is expected to bring an extra 465,000 cruise passengers to the Bahamas annually, said Mr Christie, with MSC  shipping having committed up to $100 million to construct and sustain the project and associated marine park.

“MSC has committed to an investment of up to US$100 million for construction and the self-sustaining operation and environmental management of the Cruise Port and Marine Park at Sandy Cay, and plans authentic and engaging Bahamian experiences to complement the construction of a private cruise destination paradise for its 369,000 annual guests,” the Prime Minister said. 

“Amenities will include shopping, dining, retail and recreational spaces, including an amphitheatre and a ship-based infirmary among other facilities. MSC is also developing a Marine Reserve at Sandy Cay, offering unique diving experiences for guests of the island, further adding to the Bimini experience.

“Future plans call for development of a yacht club and spa, private bungalows, massage huts and wave-action lagoons, as well as a private, mega-yacht marina.  Other developments will include offices for a dock master and Bahamas Customs and Immigration.  Back-of-the-house facilities will include staff housing, security stations, power, water/waste treatment and maintenance areas.”

Mr Christie added that the resulting net benefit from this new cruise product  will be an extra 96,000 passengers visiting Nassau and 19 new calls, per annum, to  Sandy Cay, increasing the Bahamas’ cruise market share by 3 per cent.

“It is anticipated that economic activity from the cruise port at Sandy Cay will bring an additional 465,000 annual cruise passengers to the Bahamas. This is expected to generate $20 million in salaries for construction services, and create over 600 new construction jobs, with 250 as full-time construction employees, over a two-year period,” the Prime Minister said.

Mr Christie added that major infrastructural works on Sandy Cay are expected to begin in January 2016, and following completion of environmental studies, mobiliaation for vertical construction may start as early as May 2016. Phase one of the project is expected to open by the 2017 third quarter.

Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ executive chairman, said: “We are going through the environmental studies. We already checked and there is an incredible marine ecosystem down there.

“There will not only be the moving of the sand but there is a very important environmental impact that will be studied and presented to the Government. When you are promoting a marine reserve and underwater, you want to be sure that you deliver a pristine environment.”

Mr Christie added: “Ocean Cay for the last 20 years or so has been used for aragonite mining. It was being exported for years and years, and that is why that island was being dug about.

“What MSC has discovered is that notwithstanding all of that, there is till significant marine life there and it is a dynamic part of a dive operation that they will have as a part of their offering. It is going to be in their interest, and the Government’s interest, to ensure that the people who come have the perfect experience, which means populating the marine life around that  island.

“The Government, as a matter of policy, requires an Environmental Impact  Assessment study and an Environmental Impact Management plan.  You would expect that the Government would require of MSC to ensure that it conforms with all of the requirements of meeting the environmental standards of the country.  We are going to be ready and prepared for this decision, and be able to demonstrate to the people of the country the steps needed to be taken to ensure the environment is protected.”

MSC is the world’s second largest shipping company, and one of the largest and fastest growing cruise lines. It is also a partner of another conglomerate and major Freeport investor, the Hutchison Whampoa group of companies.