By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE deputy prime minister yesterday said a $500m resort development targeted at Exuma’s Cave Cay project will “do wonders for the entire area” through creating one of the largest marinas in The Bahamas.

Chester Cooper, Exuma’s MP and also minister of tourism, investments and aviation, said during the Heads of Agreement signing with developer, Cave Cay Ltd, that the project will further the cays’ “renaissance” as the fifth development approved for the island since the Davis administration took office.

“This is a continuation of the renaissance that we are seeing in the Exumas,” he said. “It’s going to deepen and strengthen and enrich our already vibrant product. In addition, of course, to in excess of 200 construction jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for persons living in the cays, and persons from Exuma who might be returning to the cays, we welcome this development.

“We anticipate that Cave Cay Ltd is going to build one of the largest marinas in the country. But I’m delighted to say there is going to be no dredging as this marina already exists. So this is a restoration, a revitalisation of what Cave Cay has been known for over the last decade or more, and this new investment of $500m - in excess thereof- is certainly going to do wonders for the entire area.”

Felipe MacLean, Cave Cay Ltd’s developer, said: “We believe that Exuma will be a global destination. Today, very few have been able to enjoy it, but with the efforts that your government has been doing in the past year, that’s definitely changing.”

The resort development will “probably” take eight years to complete, with the first phase scheduled to finish within the next two years. The project will employ “250 to 500 employees at full capacity”, and 80 percent of the workforce is expected to be Bahamian.

Mr MacLean said ground breaking will occur “pretty soon” because Cave Cay needs to be “activated” so potential customers and real estate buyers can visit. He added that the villas will be priced at $2,000 per square foot. “We have cottages, we have villas, we have estates, so it’s a variety of products for the different customers,” he added.

“We also have boat houses. That is one of our other products, but on average, most of them are $2,000 per square foot… The product goes from 3,500 square feet with air conditioning to probably 12,000 square feet with air conditioning.”

Prime Minister Philip Davis KC said his administration “enthusiastically embraces” the Cave Cay project as it will add more high-end rooms to the tourism product.