By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ROYAL Caribbean International leaders rebutted environmental concerns surrounding the proposed $100m Paradise Island project yesterday, insisting it would be their most environmentally friendly project of its kind.

The proposed Royal Beach Club has faced withering scrutiny after Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis announced its approval subject to environmental evaluations.

Atlantis executives have been among the loudest critics, with Audrey Oswell, President and Managing Director of the resort, calling the Davis administration’s support premature and urging resort staff to make their voices heard over the deal.

In a wide-ranging interview yesterday, Jay Schneider, RCI’s Chief Product Innovation Officer, admitted officials had been surprised by Atlantis’ vocal opposition to the project and said they will comprehensively address environmental concerns in the coming weeks.

“If I were to break it down,” he said, “I believe (Atlantis) has three concerns. If I’m them, I would have concerns about details of potential environmental impact. They bring a lot of guests to Paradise Island and they want to protect the experience that they provide to guests. We understand that. Making sure we follow a diligent process is 100% fair.

“The second concern that they may have, and they’ve raised it with us, is the movement of our guests on Paradise Island. We shared with them that one of the things we want to do is let the people who can go to the Beach Club, when they want to experience other things, we will take them there safely so they won’t just be lingering.”

“The third thing, (and) they’ve expressed this in different ways, is the impact it has on other businesses in and around Nassau. But the maximum capacity of the Beach Club is only 40 per cent of guests. When you think of just the math alone, that’s more than one million on an annual basis that will never be able to go there who will need other things to do, whether it’s Atlantis, Baha Mar, Margaritaville, diving, Blue Lagoon, all of the things that they can do today.”

Mr Schneider said by 2027, RCI will bring 2.5 million people to The Bahamas annually, up from one million in 2017. He said the Royal Beach Club would not have the capacity to host all guests, leaving plenty of tourists for other businesses.

In a statement last month, Ms Oswell said RCI failed to respond to its written questions after a Department of Environmental Planning public consultation meeting. But Mr Schneider said the company didn’t respond because the government changed and RCI had to restart the approval process.

“We had to go through a new project approval process,” he said. “So during that time, the feedback we had from the government was that it would be inappropriate to submit the responses to the public until we got approval. We’ve now reached that point. We will release our public consultation report and will answer not just their 28 questions but a full report on every question. It will be more exhaustive than what anyone has ever answered.”

“When you think of the process, there’s the EIA, there’s the public consultation, and eventually an environmental management plan. We’re actually pulling details from our management plan and putting it in our public consultation report.”

Mr Schneider said the EIA, which has been completed, raises no concerns about the project.

He said Ms Oswell highlighted features that are not a part of the project. In particular, there will be no overwater cabanas, and wastewater will not be transferred via a pressurized line under the channel.

“A pipe that could leak would be a fair concern of theirs if that’s what we are doing, but we are not,” he said. “All the waste will be handled on the property.”

He said a $20m wastewater treatment facility on CocoCay provides a template for how wastewater will be treated safely.

 “The treatment plant that we have in Coco Cay, as well as the next generation that will be built here, will enable us to treat 100 per cent of this water. Of that 100 per cent, more than 95 per cent will be used for beneficial means, whether that’s irrigation (or) clean pathways,” he said.

As for concerns about how the project will impact Nassau’s Harbour, Mr Schneider said RCI would study the general impact of traffic with the Nassau Cruise Port.

“As part of this, we’re partnering with local Bahamians to create a modern taxi business not just for us, but throughout New Providence,” he said.

Meanwhile, Michael Bayley, President & CEO of RCI, dismissed Atlantis’ concerns surrounding beach access.

“By law, the beach will still be publicly accessible,” he said, adding local residents can access the Beach Club and receive daily passes at a significantly discounted rate.

“I believe there are multiple acres that are still available as Crown Land, including the whole Lighthouse project area, so that’s also public beach,” he said. “And I think the other truism is all the times I’ve sailed into Nassau and I looked at that stretch of land, I don’t think I’ve ever seen really anybody there. Remember those derelict, rundown buildings? And the only way you can access it was by boat, so it’s never been accessible to people. I think it will now become accessible to people because we will be operating transport back and forth. We’re happy to offer discounted rates for local residents and there’ll be certain days we won’t have ships and we’ll be happy to open it up to local residents.”