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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
ISLAND HISTORY – Minister for Grand Bahama Dr. Michael Darville gave Ft. Pierce Mayor Linda Hudson and her delegation a brief history of the island on Friday.
(Immerse Bahamas photo)
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Freeport, BAHAMAS - Mayor of Ft. Pierce, Florida, Linda Hudson paid a courtesy call on Minister for Grand Bahama Dr. Michael Darville Friday during a two-day visit to the island.
Mayor Hudson and her delegation arrived on Thursday.
Minister Darville thanked Mayor Hudson for coming to Grand Bahama while highlighting the great relationship The Bahamas has with South Florida and the fact about 200,000 Bahamians visit South Florida’s shores annually.
“We invest from our country in excess of $1billion in commerce in South Florida. As a result, we have hundreds of thousands of tourists that come to our country from South Florida. So we definitely have a very strong working relationship with the residents of Florida and we intend to strengthen that relationship in the months and years ahead,” Minister Darville said.
Enlightening the delegation on the history of the island, Minister Darville said the concept of Grand Bahama was developed by Wallace Groves who came to The Bahamas to harvest timber and, after doing so, had a dream to establish a deep-water port in Grand Bahama to connect The Bahamas globally.
The Minister for Grand Bahama revealed that the man-made deep-water port on Grand Bahama is the nucleus for the county.
“We went into a relationship with a company who mines the rock and give us the harbour. It was a working relationship that was established years ago and is still ongoing,” he said.
With the opening of the new Panama Canal locks scheduled to take place in a few months, Minister said Grand Bahama is now poised for accepting some of the largest vessels in this region.
“We will work in close collaboration with Florida who really cannot handle the drafts of these vessels that will be coming in. So we anticipate that these vessels will be coming to us, the cargo will be offloaded and the destination for some of the cargo will be to the eastern seaboard and some will be en route to Europe and so we will be able to utilize this harbour, not only for our benefit in the maritime sector, but also to assist some ports on the eastern seabed.”
MAYORAL VISIT – Minister for Grand Bahama Dr. Michael Darville, left, welcomed Mayor Linda Hudson and her delegation, centre, and Bahamas Consul General Ricardo Treco to Grand Bahama when they paid a courtesy call to him on Friday. (Immerse Bahamas photo)
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As Grand Bahama is known for its hospitality, Minister Darville explained that the island’s dual model, which combines industry with tourism, has afforded government the opportunity to enter into relationships with companies such as Hutchison Whampoa, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and the Grand Bahama Shipyard, one of the best cruise ship repair facilities in the world.
When it is all summed up, the Minister for Grand Bahama said, the island is now positioned in the maritime sector to become a major player for transshipment as its Air/Sea Logistics Park is developed in the free trade zone.
The delegation heard that the island’s tourism industry remains robust and of plans of a number of developments on the drawing board, including the construction of a new cruise port on the Eastern end of the island, and of advanced negotiations for the establishment of the University of Miami Campus Medical School with the construction of a new state-of-the art hospital.
“A lot of things are happening in Grand Bahama and through our Consul General we would definitely like to meet with representatives from your Chamber of Commerce for us to get more connected to show about the potential business opportunities to operate in our free trade zone,” Dr. Darville said, “while at the same time to create opportunities for businesses locally here to network with businesses in South Florida so that we can keep commerce going while the tourism sector continues to grow.”
Bahamas Consul General Ricardo Treco, who facilitated the Mayoral visit, said he was pleased to have the opportunity to accompany Mayor Hudson and her delegation who are hopefully going to provide a synergy between Florida and Grand Bahama.
The delegation was hosted to a luncheon by Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell at Pelican Bay Resort and met with airport officials before returning to South Florida Friday evening.
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