Nassau, Bahamas – The current economic crunch will not last forever and the Bahamas’ infrastructure “must be in good condition” when the economy rebounds, Public Works and Transport Minister Neko C. Grant said, July 2.

Minister Grant was responding to comments by Senator Allyson Maynard-Gibson during her contribution to the debate in the Senate on a Bill for an Act to Amend the Cruise Ship’s Overnighting Incentives Act on Wednesday.

She criticized the government for, among other things, its plans to continue with the Nassau Harbor dredging despite the global economic downturn.

Mr. Grant said 70 per cent of the visitors to The Bahamas arrive by cruise ships and the introduction of mega cruise ships that call on the Port of Nassau will require more water depth than presently exists.

“It was decided that it was necessary to increase the capacity of Nassau Harbor, making it accessible to this new generation of cruise ships and for The Bahamas to be able to compete with other Caribbean countries,” said Mr. Grant.

On April 2, the Government signed a $44 million contract with Boskalis, a Netherlands-based international dredging and maritime infrastructure contractor.

The contract includes dredging of 1.9 million cubic yards of material from Nassau Harbor, construction of three mooring dolphins (fixed man-made structures which are not connected to the shore and are used for mooring) at Prince George Wharf, and extension by 1,000 feet of the western end of Arawak Cay with the dredged material.

At the contract signing for the Nassau Harbor Port Improvement Project, Minister Grant said, “It is anticipated that the dredging would be completed in time to accommodate the arrival of one of the first of Royal Caribbean International’s mega cruise ships, ‘Oasis of the Seas’ on its maiden voyage in December, 2009.”