By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Environmental activists yesterday urged the developer behind the proposed $580m south Abaco resort project to "re-evaluate his costs" due to labour and material price spikes cause by Hurricane Dorian.

Cindy Pinder, of the Sustainable South Abaco group, told Tribune Business that "things have changed so much" since Ra’anan ‘Ronnie’ Ben-Zur, the principal behind the Tyrsoz Family Holdings development, first conceived of and put together his project.

Speaking from her own personal experience about the impact labour and material shortages have had on construction prices for Dorian's rebuilding, Ms Pinder recalled how a friend was charged $12,000 to paint a 2,000 square foot interior space. And, to put roofs on a one-two bed home, and three-unit office space, she said she was personally quoted $30,000 for labour alone.

"I think he need to re-evaluate his plans, his timelines, his costs. His costs are going to go way up," she said of Mr Ben-Zur. "We have a lot of concerns with his ability to pull this off as a developer. He's never done anything like this before. He's done projects renovating existing hotels, which are very different to coming out to the woods where there is nothing and trying to make something....

"We're afraid of failure and he's talking really big numbers. We are not against development that is environmentally favourable or friendly, but he's chosen one of the most sensitive areas on the entire island of Abaco...

"The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as a whole has a tremendous amount of gaps and issues that should be addressed and haven't been addressed. Ronnie is saying he wants to be environmentally friendly but there's going to have to be a lot of mitigation for what he wants to do."

Ms Pinder spoke after the Sustainable South Abaco coalition held a Zoom meeting with Mr Ben-Zur to discuss the project, the outcome of which appears not to have eased their concerns. The group has engaged various environmental experts and scientists to review the EIA and prepare submissions in time for the December 3 deadline set by the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection.

Mr Ben-Zur previously told Tribune Business he had "stretched to the maximum" the economic viability of his $580m development to produce "the lowest density project in The Bahamas" and satisfy environmental concerns.

Acknowledging that his project's two sites, collectively covering around 1,100 acres, lie in an area of extreme environmental sensitivity close to the Abaco National Par, and breeding and nesting grounds for the Abaco parrot, Mr Ben-Zur reassured that it made no business sense to disrupt this since it represented "a selling proposition" to attract visitors and clientele.

Urging observers not to lose sight of the development's projected $2bn economic impact over its first ten years, plus the 600 full-time and "average" 600 construction jobs it promises to provide, he added that South Abaco's need for employment and economic development - especially post-Dorian and COVID-19 - cannot be "over-emphasised".

Asked about the environmental concerns that were raised last year, he replied: "We are extremely conscious, and were conscious of it before the concerns were raised. When I went to the site, I'm not an environmentalist, but I'm a responsible person who cares about the world. It was obvious we would decide to do it low density.

"We have 1,100 acres and could put 4,000 keys there without thinking twice, but the moment I went to see it, it was obvious it was not on the cards. It is the most low density project you will find in The Bahamas.

"Compare it to Albany, Baker's Bay and the Ocean Club. We're way less dense than they are; half of what they are or better. It's very hard to measure, but I believe we're at 40 percent to 60 percent of their density."

However, when questioned by Tribune Business, Mr Ben-Zur said he presently does not own the land on which the project will be located but has an option and contract to buy if the environmental studies are favourable. He also declined to disclose his financial backers.

Still unimpressed, Sustainable South Abaco yesterday said it "strongly urges the relevant authorities to ensure that appropriate due diligence is done on Mr Ben-Zur and Tyrsoz Family Holdings, along with a comprehensive and independent environmental review and a detailed engineering feasibility study of the proposed marina and golf course.....

"The worst thing that can happen to this critically sensitive environmental area of south Abaco is the large-scale destruction of natural resources that can never be replaced, without economic gains resulting as promised," it added, requesting that the Government not "needlessly rush" any approvals.

"Sustainable South Abaco simply does not want to see a large-scale, failed development that would leave permanent scars on the beautiful green land of south Abaco, leaving it barren and stripped, like numerous other unfinished and failed developments throughout the Bahamas."