The balanced growth and development of The Bahamas requires that all parts of the country receive the focused attention of the Government. Hence, as we provide incentives to stimulate investment in the City of Nassau we are also providing incentives to stimulate and encourage investment in our least developed islands.

Development on these islands hold the potential to transform the quality of life of Bahamians by helping to redistribute the population away from the concentration on New Providence and providing improved opportunities for the diversification of our economic base.

Toward this end, we are enacting anew, a piece of legislation first enacted during our previous stint in office to promote investment in selected Family Islands. It is our intention to adopt the Family Island Development Encouragement Act and have it enter into effect on July 1, 2008. The Act will provide the following concessions for individuals investing in the named islands:

Duty free and Excise Tax free import of all construction material to be used for the construction of a new building; or for the rehabilitation, remodeling or extension of a new or existing building; and

Duty free and Excise Tax free import of any machinery used for the clearing of land for farming or construction carried out in any of the Family Islands specified.

Islands to benefit from this law are:

Sweetings Cay and Water Cay (Grand Bahama);
Grand Cay and Moores Island (Abaco);
Current Island (Eleuthera);
Andros;
Cat Island;
San Salvador;
Rum Cay;
Long Island;
Crooked Island;
Long Cay;
Acklins;
Ragged Island and Cays;
Mayaguana; and
Inagua
 
Overall this is excellent news for all Stella Maris land owners and ultimately for the Port St George development going forward.