What is the real story here?
Back on May 16th this extract appeared in an article in the Tribune......."Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe initially seemed to suggest the government was also wary of the project, saying Prime Minister Perry Christie has directed officials to investigate the redevelopment.
But then, following a meeting with Mr Andrawos and Carnival Cruise Lines, the minister said all concerns have been “assuaged.”... Maybe he was using assuaged to mean something else.
None of the reports actually states WHO is the developer. We have Samir Andrawos, operator of St Maarten Sightseeing Tours who seems to have a good relationship to Carnival and former Cabinet Minister, Charles Carter who seems to act as a spokesman for the developers group (of which he is a partner) and a few other interested persons unnamed.
Surely some transparency here would help especially as we are no attracting international attention to the plan to set up a fourth dolphin prison in the Bahamas.

Why keep recalling a history built on piracy, blockade running, rum running, gun running and drug smuggling. Why not look forward to build a future and put the dubious past out of mind.

This sounds like good news, but can anyone tell us who Sunset Equities are? Look them up on the web and there is nothing! There is a Sunset Equities that seems to own or manage Wendys restaurants.
There is no actual Sunset Equities webpage.
This is not unusual for foreign companies making investments in the Bahamas, (Phone company) Bluewater and BTC, (ocean driven air conditioning and power) OTE Plc working on two projects with one with Baha Mar the other with BEC. There seems to be another Bluewater mentioned in the newsworthy Blackbeard Cay development for Carnival.
Maybe I do not understand the way of foreign investment and that the optimum method of doing business here is to form a shell company far divorced from the holding company so that if anything goes wrong, the principals can just melt away to where they came from until the next opportunity arises.Take a look around at the number of failed projects around the Bahamas. Is there no due diligence done here or does the government get so excited at the thought of a big investment that they forget all the rules

With financial experts such as John on island it is strange that the Bahamas are in the fiscal state that we are in.

Correction. Crime reported in the press is trending downward!

Just because a yacht is registered in the Bahamas will not mean it is going to be based here! Has anyone wandered along the Atlantis marina to see the ports of registry of those mega yachts? What are the Bahamas going to offer to make these yachts change their registry.
This sounds like a typical scheme that these governments are trying to introduce to get rich quick. Oil exploration, inviting and selling licenses to expeditions to hunt for sunken treasure and now let us see if we can convince these stupid wealthy big yacht owners who do not know any better to pay us to register their yachts here! Why? Well it is better in the Bahamas! Why? Because we said so!

If you want to borrow money from the real world, you have to join it and play by their rules. Like it or not that is reality when you have a negative economy!

When is this nation of 300,000 plus people going to realise that it does not need an international airline subsidised by the people. If we are going to subsidise an airline then make it efficient and serving to islands of the Bahamas. Make it full price for visitors and subsidised for locals. Get rid of the expensive Boeings, there more than enough US airlines serving the Bahamas all competing for the passengers.Get rid of the fat bloated highly paid executive and slim down.
Let the Bahamas have its own efficient frequent inter island service for the people of the Bahamas.
let us stop pouring money into the black hole.

Tribune Thursday May 16th
".....Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe initially seemed to suggest the government was also wary of the project, saying Prime Minister Perry Christie has directed officials to investigate the redevelopment.
But then, following a meeting with Mr Andrawos and Carnival Cruise Lines, the minister said all concerns have been “assuaged.”...."
So tell us honestly what has changed since the 16th May? Maybe the payments stopped?

Good news for officials, they do not have to work on perfecting the Bahamas’ brand after all.as the criminals and Greenslade's "non" gangs are Bahamanianizing the brand for them,