By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Perry Christie said the Minnis administration would make a “fundamental error” if it leases crown land in the Colonial Beach area of Paradise Island to Royal Caribbean International.

RCI wants to lease the ten eastern-most acres of the 17-acre crown land tract as part of its Royal Beach Club destination which it wants up and running by late 2022. Mr Christie told reporters yesterday that giving the cruise line what it wants would push against decades of policy and prompt anger from Bay Street businesses, resorts like Atlantis, The Pointe, Baha Mar and other cruise lines.

Philip “Brave” Davis, leader of the Progressive Liberal Party, said over the weekend that a PLP government would cancel the deal if it comes to power.

Noting cruise lines have already been given the “extraordinary privilege” of creating destinations outside New Providence that serve their clients, the former prime minister said: “New Providence, the cruise ships there originally were to feed the tourism infrastructure of New Providence. At one state due to pressure being applied, the Free National Movement government allowed the ships to open in port and therefore came into conflict with other facilities on our island.

“That has been accepted and we moved on. Paradise Island created a major investment with their water offerings. The cruse ships patronised Atlantis with their water offerings. Baha Mar is building a water experience and would expect cruise ships to patronise it. Bay Street has been going through now a generational challenge of being relevant to cruise ships. The eastern section of Bay Street is dead. We’re talking about creating a boardwalk, successive governments with a view of engendering new levels of support across Bay Street, east and west.

“By allowing one cruise line to create a dominant position in the harbour of New Providence would be a fundamental error that would go against the income that Bay Street should earn, the very purpose of Sol Kerzner investing the many millions, nearly a billion dollars in phases for water-sports, where the new developers at Baha Mar investing more and more money and where The Pointe has invested hundreds of millions towards taking advantage of the leading cruise destination in the Caribbean. New Providence was not meant to have one cruise line in such a dominant position. It is the reason why we have allowed them to go to other islands, with a view toward them having a more meaningful impact on other islands like Disney in Eleuthera, even though Disney has an Abaco destination.”

Mr Christie said the government should think carefully about what it is contemplating.

“Any number of Bahamians applied for the use of the beach there (on Paradise Island),” he said. “When we were negotiating the purchase of the hotels at the Western Esplanade, the Marriott Courtyard, they were saying they wanted to create a special experience on that beach for the hotel so that guests could have an enhanced experience because they did not have the advantage of having access to a beach other than the Western Esplanade which is overpopulated. So in terms of the balance that is vital to the future success of tourism on this island, we have to ensure that firstly, we have a policy that allows all of the cruise lines to have an equitable stake.”

He added: “If you allow RCL to land at Prince George Dock, have its own enterprise on Paradise Island where they ship their people there then that is exclusionary and what is happening then is it’s like an all-inclusive hotel. The people who are on Bay Street who expect passengers, the people at The Pointe, the people at Paradise Island, the people at Baha Mar, the people at Arawak Cay (will be affected). I understood the prime minister to say he will do something special between The Pointe and Arawak Cay. If that is the case, doing something special surely does not take into contemplation a cruise line having an exclusive (right).”

Mr Christie spoke to reporters after delivering the keynote address to students of Mt Carmel Preparatory Academy who were celebrating Commonwealth Day.