By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The $18m sale of a Grand Bahama resort is threatened by the “dilapidated and dangerous” bridge that represents the sole transport link to “mainland” Freeport for itself and multiple other businesses. 

Attorneys for Taino Beach Resort and its affiliated property, the Flamingo Bay Hotel and Marina, warned Ian Rolle, the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) president, in an August 14, 2024, letter that failure to properly maintain the crumbling Taino Bridge could spark legal action especially if “a collapse of closure” of this vital transport connection occurs.

Terence Gape, senior partner at Dupuch & Turnquest, in a document seen by Tribune Business warned that the bridge’s condition “represents a major threat to all residents and income earners” based on Taino Beach Island as well as potentially endangering the investments made by his client and other developers.

He argued that “the general opinion” is that the bridge’s deterioration is now so severe that a rebuild, rather than just merely repairs, is required especially given the seeming failure to resolve the key infrastructure asset’s state earlier.

The letter urged the GBPA and its affiliates, namely the Grand Bahama Development Company (DevCO) and Lucaya Service Company (LUSCO), to release a survey and engineer’s report alongside their plans to rebuild the bridge within the next 30 days. Mr Gape said developing an infrastructure asset to match “the salubrious nature” of the area would ease “the anxiety of investors and residents alike”.

And he also warned that Taino Beach Resort’s owner was exposed to a potentially “enormous” loss if the proposed purchaser were to cancel or withdraw from the deal due to concerns over Taino Bridge’s condition and the uncertainty surrounding plans to address this.

Alluding to the potential consequences for the resort and Flamingo Bay Hotel & Marina, Mr Gape wrote: “The Taino Beach Resort is comprised of 157 timeshare units and 66 hotel units with a Bahamian staff of up to 100 persons, which can have as many as 500 tourists and timeshare owners on site at an given time......

“Our clients are particularly concerned that, should the bridge collapse or become impassable, particularly within the next six to nine months, the economic feasibility of this pending sale and, indeed, the business of the resort and livelihood of the resort’s employees and the enjoyment of the resort by tourists and timeshare owners will be materially and negatively affected.

“Indeed, depending on the nature and extent of the collapse and closure, the sale of the resort itself may be in jeopardy and cancelled, and our client’s loss will be enormous,” the Dupuch & Turnquest senior partner wrote.

“As the Taino Bridge stands, it represents a major threat to all residents and income earners on Taino, and represents generally a threat to their investments and/or employment and constitutes a public nuisance as a major cause of anxiety to the population for which we believe you and/or your subsidiary companies [DevCO and LUSCO] are and/or would be liable.”

Arguing that “this failure to maintain Taino Bridge could also be said to be an act of negligence”, Mr Gape served notice that his resort client and others impacted may initiate legal action against the GBPA and its affiliates for damages “should a collapse or closure of the bridge” occur or become necessary.

“We recommend that a proper survey and engineer’s report of the condition of the bridge be laid before or be made available to our clients or any other party with a vested interest within the next 30 days to include your plan to rebuild or reconstruct the Taino Bridge to the best engineering standard within a reasonable timeframe,” Mr Gape added, “making it safe and reliable to a design and quality in keeping with the salubrious nature of the Taino Beach and Bell Channel and Fortune Bay canal areas. 

“Such an action by you would alleviate the anxiety of investors and residents alike, especially those that rely on the daily tourist trade.” Mr Gape declined to comment when contacted by Tribune Business yesterday other than to voice surprise that this newspaper had obtained a copy of his letter to Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority.

Tribune Business also sought to obtain comment, and an update on the Taino Bridge’s status, repair plans and timelines from the GBPA and its affiliates. A GBPA spokesperson confirmed that repair work is being carried out to the bridge’s “underside” and said they would contact Charisse Brown, DevCO’s chief executive and legal counsel, to see if the company would comment.

However, no response was received before press time last night. The letter and Taino Beach Resort’s concerns, though, are likely to be seized upon by the Davis administration and used as ammunition to support its charges that the GBPA is failing to live up to its Hawksbill Creek Agreement obligations to maintain and develop Freeport by ensuring the upkeep of critical infrastructure.

Both the Prime Minister and Fred Mitchell, the PLP’s chairman and minister of foreign affairs who has championed the Government’s hardline stance over the GBPA, will likely use it as confirmation of their accusation that Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority and its owners, the Hayward and St George families, are either unable or unwilling to invest what is necessary to maintain the city.

The Government is currently locked in a dispute over its demand that the GBPA reimburse it $357m for expenditure incurred in Freeport, over and above tax revenues generated by the city, between 2018-2022. The battle is now heading for arbitration proceedings.

DevCO is 50 percent owned by Hong King conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, which has Board and management control, with the GBPA holding the remaining 50 percent via its Port Group Ltd affiliate. But, ever since Mr Gape’s letter was delivered to the GBPA, the latter’s affiliates appear to have sprung into action.

LUSCO, in a notice issued on August 20, 2024, warned boaters that the “water passage” beneath Taino Bridge was closed due to the need to effect repairs. “LUSCO advises operators of marine vessels of all types that, as a preventative measure and safety precaution, the Taino Bridge water passage is closed due to repairs required to the Taino Beach Bridge,” it added.

“Mariners in the Fortune Bay area may exit the Fortune Bay canal entrance and navigate along the southern shore of the island to the Bell Channel Bay entrance and vice versa until the repairs are completed.” Research by Tribune Business shows that LUSCO was aware of Taino Bridge’s growing problems more than one year ago.

“An initial assessment was conducted by the Building and Development Services Department (BDS) of the Grand Bahama Port Authority and, out of an abundance of caution, the western half of the bridge will be closed to swiftly facilitate the necessary repairs,” it said in an August 24, 2023, statement.

“The eastern half of the bridge will be converted to a dual carriageway to allow the public to safely traverse while we immediately begin the remediation process. We have already conducted the initial inspection. An independent engineering firm will be engaged within two weeks to prepare the scope of work, design and finalise the repair plan and timeline.

“We anticipate that repairs will commence within four to six weeks with the duration to be determined pending the scope of the work.” LUSCO said then that it had been in communication with all key stakeholders over its plans and the need for repairs.

The bridge represents the only transport link to attractions and businesses such as Smith’s Point Fish Fry, Pirate Cove Zip Line and Water Park, the Dolphin Experience, Stoned Crab Restaurant and Tony Macaroni’s Conch Experience. However, repair progress has been slow.

Charisse Brown, DevCO’s chief executive and legal counsel, was quoted in May 2024 as saying: “The bidding process to select a contractor for the project is currently underway, with the selection expected in June. We reassure residents that the bridge’s condition, particularly the underside, is monitored by a contracted structural engineering firm to prevent further deterioration.”

However, Mr Gape reiterated in his letter to the GBPA: “The Taino Bridge represents the only link to and from the ‘mainland’ for the hundreds of private homes, condominiums and the public and private restaurants serving the Taino Beach island which includes the original settlement of Smith’s Point.

“It is acknowledged that the Taino Bridge is, and has been for some years, in a tenuous, dilapidated and dangerous condition, forcing the GBPA in the past 12 months to close the western two-lane section to traffic and to restrict the weight of vehicles going over the eastern half presumably so that remedial maintenance work can be done.

“Indeed, Sanitation Services Company has had to discontinue going over Taino Bridge with its heavy equipment for some time, occasioning the continuous build up of refuse on Taino. The general opinion is the Taino Bridge must be rebuilt, and not just ‘repaired’ as nothing substantial has been done these past four years or more.”