It seems to us that for the last three or four months a continuous flow of gloom and doom has poured forth from every television set on the planet. So, we're very happy to be able to bring you some good news about progress with Port St. George. Sometimes the news we have is spectacular – the receipt of full planning permission or the announcement of the golf course designer for example – and at other times progress is made with less obvious, though not necessarily less important, matters. Whichever it may be, even though sometimes there is nothing spectacular to report for a few months, you can rest assured the work to make Port St. George a reality is still going on in the background.


Environmental Management Plan

At the time of our last update the Terms of Reference for the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) had just been submitted to the Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology Commission (BEST). As we anticipated would be the case, BEST were quick to approve our submissions.

As soon as their approval was to hand we gave instructions for work on preparing the EMP to begin and during December engineers from the US company Applied Technology & Management, assisted by our environmental consultants Islands by Design, carried out the work required on the ground at the Port St. George site in order for the EMP to be prepared. The results of the site work have now been compiled and the first draft of the EMP was received this week. Some work will now be required in order to get from this first draft stage to a final document for submittal to BEST, but we are confident that submittal will take place during the next few weeks.

This is an important step forward because the EMP identifies the steps that must be taken to ensure that the development of Port St. George is carried out using the highest standard of environmental practices. The contents of the EMP will be used in the final stage of Master Planning for the development in order to ensure that environmental protection is planned into Port St. George before ground is even broken. But, that is only the beginning. The EMP will become a living document which will be used throughout the development period in order to, in the words of its authors, "ensure that the development of Port St. George proceeds with adequate controls that protect the long-term health of the environmental resources of the project site and immediate vicinity". The adoption of this approach means that protection of the environment will be properly considered at every stage - from the preparation of plot level drawings to the completion of the last home.

By taking time at this stage to have a robust EMP prepared and agreed with the Bahamas Government, we are taking the steps to help ensure that Port St. George does not suffer the fate of some other developments where work has begun without these steps being taken, only to be halted due to intervention by regulatory bodies or even, on occasion, court injunctions. Those of you reading this who have visited Long Island will have witnessed its beauty first hand. It is important that the development of Port St. George proves to be an enhancement to the Island and the EMP will help us to ensure that becomes the case.


Prime Ministerial Interest in Port St. George

In November the Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, showed his personal interest in Port St. George by hosting a meeting at his office which was attended by Curly, Jon and Keith Bishop of Islands by Design. The Prime Minister was already aware of the Port St. George project and had been advised by Keith of the work that was being done to ensure compliance with best environmental practices. After listening to a brief presentation of the development plan from Curly, the Prime Minister confirmed his support for the development and wished us well with future progress.

From the outset the plans for Port St. George have received political support from the level of Long Island Councillors to Government Ministers and we are, of course, delighted to have received this attention and support from the Prime Minister himself.


Hotel Operator

Our expectation was that by now we would have already announced the identity of the operator for the hotel at Port St. George. We have not done so because negotiations are still ongoing and whilst that is the case we are bound by the terms of non-disclosure agreements. Work continues towards ensuring that we make the best choice of operator from the proposals that we have received and the reason that the process is taking longer than we expected is simply because we have been presented with more choices than we expected.

The selection of the hotel operator is obviously a key decision and every effort is being made to ensure that the selection decision is taken with as much information to hand as possible. Last weekend Curly, Jon and Lynda flew to the far east for second stage meetings with one five star operator whose proposal is under serious consideration, and next month will see Curly and Jon on Long Island once more to meet with one of the other five star candidates. We will, of course, make an announcement about our final choice of operator as soon as we possibly can.




Funding for the Port St. George Development

In view of the gloom and doom referred to at the beginning of this update it is understandable that many people have asked about progress with our funding plans for the Port St. George development. Obviously, the global situation is making life more difficult than at any time in recent history for developers who are seeking funding. However, our own funding plans remain on track and we continue to work closely with our proposed joint venture partners, BDO Stoy Hayward Investment Management Limited, to ensure that the funding we shall require for the development will be available as and when it is needed. In the meantime, the project continues to be funded from our own resources which are adequate for the purpose.

We know that there are disaster stories to be found daily in the press and on television. Generally, these are being caused due to borrowings being called in by financial institutions, usually because those institutions are themselves under financial pressure. We have no borrowings outstanding in respect of the Port St. George development and as a result we are not under – and we cannot be put under – any external financial pressure. So, whilst we are not complacent, we are pleased to report that the global financial crisis has not de-railed our plans.



Right to Buy Window

Once we have finalised the selection of the hotel operator, the EMP has been concluded and its contents have been ratified by BEST, then we shall be in a position to move forward to the final stage of Master Planning. It is this final stage which will result in our having the plot level drawings from which Right to Buy holders can be offered plots. The timing of the final Master Planning session will depend to a large extent on how long it takes for the EMP to be ratified, which is a matter largely outside our control. Our best estimate is that the final Master Planning session will be during the second quarter of 2009 and that the 60 day Right to Buy window will open during the last quarter of 2009 or, if the timing would then coincide with the Christmas and New Year holiday, then the first quarter of 2010.


New Flights to Long Island

A recent expansion of services by The Bahamas national carrier Bahamasair means that they now operate a daily scheduled service to Stella Maris International Airport. This gives a further option when planning travel to and from Long Island.


Bahamas Economy

Despite a general acceptance that visitor numbers to The Bahamas as a whole are down by around 6%, occupancy at Stella Maris Resort Club remains strong, with no downturn in business reported by Joerg and his colleagues.

Further, the Bahamian

Published: 21 Feb 2009