05132024 BUSINESS

China approves $290m new hospital financing

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

THE Government is aiming to “break ground” on New Providence’s new $290m hospital by September 2024 after the project was approved for “concessionary financing” from a Chinese state-owned bank.

Dr Michael Darville, minister of health and wellness, yesterday pledged to Tribune Business that the 50-acre facility to be constructed in the Perpall Tract area will be “a Bahamian hospital” after the China Export-Import Bank, the same institution that financed Baha Mar’s multi-billion resort, agreed to fully fund it via a 20-year loan with an interest rate set at just 2 percent.

Acknowledging that a Chinese company will be the lead contractor, and that Chinese labour

• Gov’t eyes September ‘ground break’ on 50-acre site

• Baha Mar financier to provide 20-year facility at 2%

• Bahamian workers to ‘get best end of stick’ pledge

always follows where Beijing’s capital goes, he nevertheless promised that the Government will seek to ensure Bahamians “get the best end of the stick” and that local workers outnumber their foreign counterparts on the project.

Bahamians will get their first glimpse of the design and plans for the new hospital, which will house maternal, child and adolescent care as well as diagnostics and a “hub for tele-medicine”, at two

Town Hall meetings set for tomorrow and May 16. A flyer advertising the meetings, which has been seen by this newspaper, says it is targeted at communities such as Stapledon, Rock Crusher and Dolphin Drive.

Dr Darville affirmed that the necessary feasibility and environmental studies have shown that the planned hospital location, situated by the traffic light on the road between the ‘six-legged’ JFK Drive roundabout and Saunders

‘Is PM’s silence what we can expect

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A PROMINENT attorney has questioned whether the Government’s refusal to engage with a Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) licensee group signals it has “no plan” for Freeport’s future development.

Kirk Antoni, the Cafferata & Company partner, who is among those leading efforts to organise the GBPA’s 3,000-plus licensees in a bid to safeguard their rights amid the quasi-governmental authority’s battle with the Government, told

Tribune Business he was not “surprised” at the latter’s refusal to recognise the Freeport Licensees Association (FLA) and its statement.

“The FLA statement was a collaborative effort of several licensees and approved by myself. I am not surprised that the PM will not respond to the statement. He won’t respond to a question and answer session in the House to questions provided to him in October 2023 by the leader of the Opposition. One must ask why,” Mr Antoni said, referring to last week’s

Bahamian aviation chief’s 3-day FTX jet hand over

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN avia-

tion entrepreneur and his firm fulfilled their $2m deal with the US Justice Department and FTX’s US chief by handing over the crypto exchange’s second jet within three days of settlement. Documents accompanying FTX’s Chapter 11 reorganisation plan, unveiled by John Ray in his capacity as head of 134 entities in bankruptcy protection in Delaware, reveal that Paul Aranha, founder of Trans-Island Airways, flew the Embraer Legacy to the US and handed it over to Justice Department representatives just 72 hours after the parties’ settlement

was approved by the southern New York federal court.

“The debtors have coordinated closely with the Department of Justice in connection with the seizure and forfeiture of Bombardier Global and Embraer Legacy airplanes, which were purchased and improved with approximately $35m of estate funds,” Mr Ray’s filings disclosed.

“On March 22, 2024, the debtors, the Department of Justice and Paul Aranha, who had claimed he owned the airplanes, submitted a stipulation for approval of the US District Court in the southern district of New York pursuant to which Aranha would return

Beach roundabout, is the best and most suitable location capable of “holding a multi-storey structure the size of Baha Mar”.

Acknowledging the “political” sensitivities of accepting financing from a Chinese-government owned bank, the minister said The Bahamas had reached out to the US equivalent - the

in GBPA takeover?’

BPL ‘shambles’:

We pay now or pay later

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS Power & Light (BPL) “shambles” will only get worse the longer critical reforms are delayed, an ex-Chamber chairman is warning, as he added: “We pay now or we pay later.”

Robert Myers, who headed the private sector body when it sought to quantify the impact of high energy costs, told Tribune Business that the “hundreds of millions” sucked away from businesses and households over the past two decades to pay BPL bills is “absolute insanity”.

Speaking just prior to revelations by Ryan Pinder KC, the attorney general, about the “dire” condition of the state-owned energy monopoly’s generation plant and transmission and distribution network, he warned that the impact will only become “more taxing” unless private sector operators who can “produce power at a reasonable rate” take over BPL’s operations. The Davis administration’s Electricity Bill 2024 appears designed to facilitate just that by paving

the way to break BPL into potentially three separate entities, with private sector partners providing capital and management expertise via outsourcing and publicprivate partnership (PPP) agreements.

Mr Myers told this newspaper that BPL and wider energy sector reform cannot come early enough, saying: “I just think the longer we wait to get somebody in that actually can produce power at a reasonable rate, the more and more taxing it is on the whole country.

“The problem is it’s only getting worse because they are losing more. A lot of what we are having to pay

DR MICHAEL DARVILLE

ROBERT MYERS

BAHAMAS TARGETS 2M AIR ARRIVALS FOR 2024

THE Bahamas is forecasting that foreign air stopover arrivals will break the two million mark for the first time in 2024 after more than 500,000 landed during the year’s first quarter.

The prediction was contained in a Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation release on the launch of Southwest Airlines’ daily non-stop service from Orlando to Nassau on June 4, 2024.

The ministry disclosed that foreign air arrivals for the first three months of 2024, which included the peak winter tourism season and most of the Easter weekend, totalled 504,000

for a 7.3 percent year-overyear increase. Based on this performance, the statement said: “End-of-year foreign air arrivals numbers are

forecasted to exceed two million.”

That would represent a 17.6 percent year-overyear increase on the 1.7m air arrivals that visited The Bahamas in 2023. Stopover arrivals are especially important to the tourism industry and the wider economy because they represent the highest-yielding visitor segment with spending that is typically 28 times’ greater than that of the average cruise passenger.

At the end of 2023, The Bahamas received 9.65m total foreign air and sea visitor arrivals. Of that number, foreign air arrivals exceeded a record 1.7m,

accounting for an increase of 3.5 percent over 2019 and 17 percent over 2022 comparisons.

This data was released as Southwest Airlines disclosed that its new daily non-stop flights will connect Orlando with Nassau at the height of the summer months. The Orlando to Nassau flights will operate from June 4 to August 4 with departures from Orlando and arrivals in Nassau.

“The expansion of Southwest Airlines’ central Florida route map to include a new daily service to Nassau is another testimony to the Government’s

efforts and commitment to grow air stopover arrivals throughout our 16-island destination aggressively,” said I. Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation.

“We have been very strategic about driving and expanding strategic partnerships with airlines and our local and international industry partners, including our Promotion Boards and hotel partners.

“Part of our expansion includes an ongoing growth strategy in our southern, central and northern Florida source market, including Orlando, West Palm Beach

and Tampa, to attract new airlift to Nassau/Paradise Island, Grand Bahama and our Family Islands.” Southwest Airlines’ new route will come on stream on June 4 in line with the relocation of its operations from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando. According to Southwest Airlines, the airline has been serving Orlando since 1996, offering non-stop flights to more than 50 destinations across the US and the Caribbean. Southwest is also the largest carrier at Orlando International Airport, accounting for more than 20 percent of all passenger traffic.

Dolphin rescue not greeted with universal acclaim by all

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter

THE five surviving dolphins at an abandoned tourism project off New Providence’s northern coast have been moved to Atlantis - but the rescue has not been met with universal acclaim.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, in a statement, revealed on Friday that the five remaining dolphins previously housed at Blackbeard’s Cay were safely transferred to the Paradise Island mega resort’s animal care facility for medical treatment and care.

Action to save the five surviving dolphins - Fiona, Harry, Diamond, Justice and Pigeon - only occurred after The Bahamas was subjected to damaging media coverage that could have harmed its international reputation as a tourist destination.

The Dolphin Project, in an online posting detailing the captive dolphins’ plight, said the survivors had largely been abandoned and were living in poor conditions at the former Blackbeard’s Cay marine attraction where only one caretaker/trainer remains.

The venue shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, to-date, eight of the 13 dolphins have died with six fatalities alleged to have occurred in the 12 months to February 2024. The initial eight dolphins were imported from Honduras in 2014, while five of their offspring were born at Blackbeard’s Cay.

The Dolphin Project warned that The Bahamas could face a severe tourism backlash unless it saved the five surviving dolphins, with “thousands” purportedly voicing outrage and threatening never to return to this nation after it posted details about the earlier deaths of eight dolphins at the former Blackbeard’s Cay development, which is located on

Balmoral Island opposite Sandals Royal Bahamian resort.

Ric O’Barry, the Dolphin Project’s founder, said the group was willing to rescue the survivors and ultimately transfer them to a purposebuilt dolphin “sanctuary” that is fully equipped to cater to their needs at no cost, but had not received permission from the Government to do so.

Gail Woon, local marine biologist and former dolphin trainer, said she was in favour of Mr O’Barry’s Dolphin Project building a dolphin “sanctuary” in Eleuthera. She added that the five dolphins’ transfer to the Atlantis Animal Care Facility is a move “from the frying pan to the fire where they will never be freed and will have to ‘work’ for the rest of their sad lives.

“Not a happy ending at all,” she argued. “In captive situations, when the animals make a profit for a company, they will never be set free. They will die in small pens whereas, in the

wild, they swim with three generations of their family up to 40 miles per day. They should have let Dolphin Project make a sanctuary here in Eleuthera. This is a huge public relations mistake by a bungling government.”

It has not been revealed how long the dolphins will be held at Atlantis.

Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources, last week pledged that the Government is actively working to ensure the well-being of the remaining mammals at Blackbeard’s Cay.

He confirmed that Blackbeard’s Cay’s deterioration “stems from a much longstanding legal battle”. He said: “The general public recently became aware as to the conditions and status of the dolphins on Blackbeard’s Cay. However, from the ministry standpoint, we have been addressing this issue from April 19 even prior to the social media posts.

“It should be noted that this is a private facility that wasn’t always originally managed by the

Government. And the whole scenario really stems from a much long-standing legal battle that dates back as far as 2017.”

The ownership of Blue Illusions’ was initially split 50/50 between foreign investors Samir Andrawos and Victoria Iglesias. However, the project ran into financial trouble following the COVID-19 enforced tourism shutdown and border closures, and both have seen separate personal bankruptcy trustees appointed over their financial affairs by the US courts after they were unable to repay loans they personally guaranteed.

However, Damian Gomez KC, former minister of state for legal affairs, successfully obtained a Bahamian Supreme Court order authorising him to seize and take over Mr Andrawos’ 50 percent Blue Illusions stake to recover an unpaid $1.25m legal bill owed by the former owner. This, though, is being challenged by Mr Andrawos’ bankruptcy trustee, sparking legal battles in both The Bahamas and the US.

The Dolphin Project said it has yet to receive the Government’s permission to step in and save the dolphins, adding that it would provide all the food, medicines and equipment needed to do so free of charge and at no cost to the Bahamian taxpayer.

Mr Campbell yesterday maintained that the Government would never “block or impede anything that’s positive”, but had to be “very careful” how it proceeds as it cannot appear to take sides in an active legal matter. He said:

“Under no circumstance will the Government ever try to block or impede anything that’s positive, whether it relates to people or animals.

“But we have to remember that this entire scenario isn’t just a one-shot deal. It’s also involved with some legal issues that we have to be very careful, as the Government, how we move forward because the Government cannot be seen to be taking any side, especially with a matter that is still live with litigation.”

Apprenticeship initiative to get persons ‘off the streets’

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE newly-launched apprenticeship initiative is designed to provide Bahamian companies with well-trained, certified employees at no cost to themselves as it bids to take persons “off the streets”.

Peter Goudie, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) labour division head, told a Rotary Club of West Nassau meeting that the private sector will be incentivised to join the transformed national apprenticeship programme through the Government covering all related expenses for the first year.

Mr Goudie, who is also a member of the National Tripartite Council, the body that handles all labourrelated matters in The Bahamas, said employers frequently complain they cannot find the “right people” to hire but now a pool of trained persons will become available to them via the apprenticeship initiative.

He added: “In the first year, government’s going to pay hundreds of thousands, but the employers are not going to have a cost at all. They’re going to have someone learning in their establishment, and

if they do a really good job then they’re going to have a really good employee. You get a certified, trained employee to work in your business.

“It always comes up in our surveys for the Chamber. They are all screaming: ‘We can’t find the right people’. Well, we’ll find them for you. We will get training for them, get them certified for you.” Mr Goudie said the apprenticeship initiative has a $5m per year budget for the first two years, and will fund the salaries of apprentices for their inaugural 12 months. Once past this mark, employers will share the salary costs.

He added: “We’ve already started working on it, but we will officially start working on it. And we have a budget of $5m a year for the next two years. In the initial year, the Government has agreed to pay

salaries and premium for all the apprentices. After that, the cost will start being shared between government and employers.”

Mr Goudie explained the programme will initially target unemployed youth. There are 100 persons ready to start their apprenticeship training, while another 100 will go through a programme to acquire soft skills, mathematics and English so they can meet the criteria to start job training.

He said: “An apprentice will be someone who is at least 16 years-old or older, and they must be out of school. We’re not calling people out of school. The person must be a Bahamian citizen or permanent resident with the right to work in The Bahamas and certified fit by a medical practitioner.

“That is who we’re targeting. And we’re really targeting, initially, the youth unemployment group. We have already lined up 100 people who we’re going to start right in on the programme, and another, at least 100, who will go through a programme.

“There are certainly people who don’t meet the criteria with their education, background and their marks. So we will put them through a programme that

CHESTER COOPER

PETER GOUDIE

Cable admits Starlink ‘opening new frontier’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

CABLE Bahamas has accused regulators of “underplaying” the arrival of Elon Musk’s Starlink Internet service as it will “open up a new frontier of competition” by attracting other satellite operators.

The BISX-listed communications provider, in its reply to the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) review of fixed services, used the upstart wireless Internet provider’s arrival to bolster its case that it should not be subjected to price caps or designated as

having significant market power (SMP) in the fixed broadband Internet market. Arguing that Starlink is not just targeting Family

Island consumers, but also seeking to penetrate the major Bahamian population centres of New Providence and Grand Bahama, Cable

Bahamas asserted: “Cable Bahamas believes URCA underplays the significance of the market entry by Starlink in the fixed broadband market.

“Low earth orbit (LEO) technology allows Starlink to provide fixed broadband services in areas where it is difficult (or too expensive) to deploy broadband services over terrestrial networks, and this is a useful feature in The Bahamas.

“However, Starlink’s presence is not limited to such areas and there is evidence of Starlink’s services across The Bahamas, including densely populated areas in New Providence and Grand Bahama. Starlink’s recent

Gov’t in ‘shelf ready project’ for Ginn site

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Government is seeking to transform the stalled 2,012-acre former Ginn development into a “shelf ready project” that is more appealing to potential investors and purchasers.

Phylicia Hanna-Woods, director of investments and the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA), said the agency is in “active discussions” over the West End, Grand Bahama-based, development in a bid to improve its marketability.

Speaking at the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly press briefing, she said: “Ginn in Grand Bahama, there are active discussions about that. The Bahamas Investment Authority is reviewing the files with the Office of the Attorney General with a view of coming together for a ‘shelf ready project’ for the Ginn property.”

Progress has been stalled on the 2,012-acre West End site for more than a decade, and Mrs Hanna-Woods said the BIA is assessing

whether the property should be split into smaller real estate parcels to facilitate a new project at the site.

She explained that the development is “very unique: due to its location, marina and airport, and the BIA is working with multiple agencies to determine what they are able to offer.

“The property is very large, and so, of course, there are a number of considerations based on the size of the property. Whether it will be split, which target sector should we be looking at given the components of the project,” Mrs Hanna-Woods said.

“You know, that project is very unique, one because of its location, and two, because it has a marina as well as an airport, and understanding across agencies, as well, what are we able to offer for that - based on all of the inter-agency policies - in terms of a shelf ready project.”

The Ginn sur mer project, and West End in general, have been at a standstill for more than a decade since the original developer, Bobby Ginn and his Ginn

Clubs & Resorts, defaulted on their project financing in 2011 in the wake of the 2008-2009 recession.

Efforts to find a new developer have resulted in several misses. Skyline Investments, a Toronto-based real estate investor/developer listed on the Israeli stock exchange, with $500m in assets and a focus on hotel and resort development, broke cover to unveil its plans for the 2,012-acre property in the early years of the Minnis administration although no deal ever ultimately materialised.

Tribune Business sources previously suggested that resolving West End’s fate has the added complication of dealing with two vendors. What would have been the core project is owned by Lubert-Adler, which holds 280 acres that were earmarked as the site for the hotels and casino. Its landholdings also include key amenities such as the airport, marina and utilities. Orlando-based Kingwood International Resorts and its principals sought to acquire the Lubert Adler piece, but were knocked

back when the Government refused to approve the purchase. Kingwood acquired Ginn’s former Reunion property in Orlando from Lubert Adler, which gave the latter confidence it may be able to take West End off its hands, too.

But a Credit Suisse-led lending syndicate took possession of the remaining 1,476 acres at the former Ginn sur mer project after Ginn Development Company defaulted on its $276m loan.

It effectively inherited the real estate component of the Ginn project, and hired Replay Resorts to master plan that property. Lubert Adler and Credit Suisse have, though, worked together in the belief this is the best way to maximise their exit priceand potential recovery - by selling the former Ginn sur mer as one. It is unclear, though, if Kingwood was to acquire both pieces.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in developing West End’s infrastructure prior to Ginn’s collapse, so any purchaser will inherit a foundation on which to

price reductions show that it wishes to compete with Cable Bahamas and BTC’s broadband offerings, and so URCA must now view this market as being (at least) prospectively competitive.....

“Cable Bahamas notes that market entry by Starlink is significant as this opens up a new frontier of competition in all of The Bahamas. Starlink is not the only satellite provider of broadband services, and further potential entry by its competitors like Viasat and HughesNet should be considered as part of this market review.”

Cable Bahamas also alleged that it was at a competitive disadvantage

against both Starlink and BTC by asserting both are part of larger global conglomerates while it is a standalone operator unable to draw upon the deeper pockets of a competitor.

“Cable Bahamas notes that relative to the main competitors in this market - BTC and Starlink - its overall size puts Cable Bahamas at a strong disadvantage,” the BISX-listed communications provider argued.

“Both BTC (through Liberty Global) and Starlink have global operations, hence expertise, scale and access to finance that puts them in a superior

build. Tribune Business understood this amounted to $200m in infrastructure spend, but was told by a source familiar with the project that the actual spend was closer to $523m. They added that the former Ginn project’s core, featuring amenities such as the casino and marina, has to be developed all at once rather than in phases - something that will cost at least $200m-plus. And they suggested that “the money in that project” is to be made from the marina, which has the ability - at full build-out - to host up to 35 350-400 foot mega yachts at any one time.

The Disability Affairs Division of the Department of Social Services has been RELOCATED from 4th Terrance Centerville to Alexander House / Department of Social Services, Robinson Road and Montel Heights with effect from 29th April, 2024.

Phone contact 397- 2503/ 397-2525

CABLE BAHAMAS HEADQUARTERS

‘Is PM’s silence what we can expect in GBPA takeover?’

exchanges between Philip Davis KC and Michael Pintard.

Questioning whether this is “what we can expect when his government takes control of Freeport”, the veteran attorney added:

“That is just one of the concerns of the FLA.....

“The FLA is concerned about the future of Freeport. That is why we are encouraging the Government and the Port to get together and resolve their issues. The Port has met with us and advised us of their plans for Freeport.

The Government refuses to do so. Why? Is it because they have no plan?”

Mr Antoni was responding to the statement by Latrae Rahming, communications director for Philip Davis KC, who replied to the FLA’s statement on the Prime Minister’s Monday speech by saying the Government does not recognise “unsigned statements”.

However, Magnus Alnebeck, the Pelican Bay resort’s general manager, struck a more conciliatory tone. He told Tribune Business that the Prime Minister’s assertion that the Government does not want to take over the GBPA, and his pledge that licensee rights, tax benefits and other concessions enjoyed under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement will not be “watered down”,

leaves the “door open” for co-operation.

“I hope that the Government and GBPA can quickly resolve the matter of what government believes they are owed and that it does not drag through the courts,” the hotel chief said. “I believe the Prime Minister in his speech said that government does not want to take over the GBPA, and that there will be be no ‘watering down’ of any rights that licensees have.

“That leaves the door open for the residents/licensees of Freeport to shape the future in partnership with the Government and the GBPA.”

Tribune Business understands the Government has

taken the position there is little purpose in engaging the Freeport Licensees Association in the belief that it does not represent the views or stance of most licensees over the GBPA dispute while also viewing its members as not being “true power brokers”.

However, the irony of the Government’s stance is that the Prime Minister last week conceded the importance of the GBPA licensees by admitting that any major changes to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, Freeport’s founding treaty, require the approval of four-fifths or 80 percent of their number. This includes potentially devolving the GBPA’s quasi-governmental powers to a local government-type authority.

Mr Davis, in making the case for the Government’s demand that the GBPA pay it $357m to cover its Freeport public spending over and above tax revenues generated by the city between 2018-2022, argued that the Port and its owners, the Hayward and St George families, never sought licensee approval to sell-off its private, profitmaking assets via their transfer to the Port Group Ltd subsidiary.

“I don’t know what they did with all the money they made from selling off

all those companies, but I know what they didn’t do: They didn’t invest in the climate-resilient infrastructure Grand Bahama needs in this new climate era of intensifying hurricanes,” the Prime Minister argued last Monday.

“And speaking of selling off these critical subsidiaries….I don’t recall them asking those of you who are licensees for your consent?

Yet any material change to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement requires fourfifths approval of licensees.

“They’re leaning on you, collecting your fees, but they’ve sold off the assets that would allow them to bring the kind of gamechanging investments that are so overdue in Grand Bahama. They haven’t kept their obligations to you, and they haven’t kept them to Bahamian taxpayers more broadly either.”

Fred Mitchell, the PLP chairman and minister of foreign affairs, who has been the major public champion of the Government’s policy towards the GBPA, revived previous assertions that the Freeport Licensees Association is merely a front or cover for Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority although he provided no hard evidence to support this.

Arguing that the “socalled licensees association

ought to be ashamed of themselves; they have let the side down”, Mr Mitchell blasted both its and the GBPA’s responses to the Prime Minister as “sickening, weak-kneed and impertinent”.

“This evening, two unfortunate, ill-conceived, misdirected statements were issued out of Grand Bahama responding in a combative manner to the Prime Minister’s address to the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce,” he slammed.

“The statements were so similar that they can be accused as being authored and directed from the same mind and pen. No one is fooled for a minute that the Freeport Licensees Association are as they present themselves: Independent of the operating minds of the Grand Bahama Port Authority.

“We reject each and every material allegation, statement, charge, supposition, theory, assertion or claim of both the Grand Bahama Port Authority and their surrogates. Their press releases were lame and will prove to be sickening, weak-kneed and impertinent,” Mr Mitchell continued.

The so-called licensees Association ought to be ashamed of themselves. They have let the side down. As for the Grand Bahama Port Authority, this is a time for silence, consulting your lawyers and stepping up to the plate and finding the money to make good what the Port has so far failed to do to promote and build a better Freeport.”

Clean Power

By CHRIS ILLING CCO @ ActivTrades Corp.

NUCLEAR power is currently experiencing a revival of interest in political and business circles as never before in its recent history. Phasing out fossil fuels as quickly as possible, and energy policy independence, are top priorities for many governments today in view of the multiple crisis situations they face, especially in the Middle East.

Nuclear energy still carries high risks, including financial ones. What is certain, however, is that future demand for nuclear fuel will be much greater than previously thought. The growing demand meets a supply that has been stagnating for years.

During the latest climate conference in Dubai, and the more recent first World Nuclear Summit in Brussels, more than 30 countries reaffirmed the goal - along with the leading minds of the industry - to triple the world’s nuclear capacity.

For young demonstrators in Brussels, whose alliance is called ‘WePlanet’, the increased use of nuclear energy is not happening fast enough. They demand more speed and action for the expansion of CO₂-free nuclear energy, and proclaiming 1,200 new reactors by 2050.

Investors in uranium are already proclaiming the big “third bull market”. After the rallies in the wake of the oil crisis in 1973-1974, and in the early 2000s, prices for the commodity could move to new heights.

Last year, the investment niche delivered lucrative returns, so investors who are betting on further quick speculative profits are a bit late to the game. In the long-term, however, the uranium business could prove to be a lucrative component of

the decarbonisation strategy in the company’s own portfolio.

The US, which still operates the largest nuclear power plant fleet in the world with 93 reactors, has already extended the approved operating life to 80 years in six cases. The elite of Silicon Valley are relying more than ever on nuclear power. The digital companies need ever larger quantities of reliable and CO₂-free (carbon dioxide free) electricity in the artificial intelligence (AI) age for their own data centres.

China, which already operates 55 reactors, is currently building 27 power plants with more planned.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Asian

superpower will control the world’s most powerful nuclear power network by 2030.

The oil and gas-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE), host of the recent climate summit, has just commissioned the four reactors of its Barakah nuclear power plant. The international suppliers, from South Korea to France and Canada, are now hoping for further international orders and are increasing the competitive pressure on the European nuclear industry, which is led by France.

The savvy investor can use special exchange traded funds (ETFs) or shares of single companies to speculate on the new hype in nuclear energy.

Cable admits Starlink ‘opening new frontier’

competitive position to a small independent local operator like Cable Bahamas.

“Being part of an international group also allows BTC and Starlink to utilise their international experience with the introduction of new services to the market, improvements to distribution and sales networks, and to create scale and scope economies in other areas like branding and procurement,” Cable Bahamas argued.

“As a small provider with a national footprint, Cable Bahamas is not in a position to do so. These other factors, therefore, provide additional evidence that Cable Bahamas is faced with strong and effective competition in this market that offer an effective constraint on Cable Bahamas’ behaviour in the fixed broadband market.”

Starlink has acted as a disruptor to the Bahamian communications market, and attracted significant attention from both incumbents - Cable Bahamas and the Bahamas

Telecommunications Company (BTC) - as evidence of their concerns at the escalating competitive threat it provides.

Chantelle Sands, head of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and Family Island innovations for Aliv Business, recently told the Harbour Island Business Outlook conference that the BISX-listed communications provider is closely monitoring Starlink’s pricing and product offering to ensure it remains competitive.

Asked by an attendee “why we should keep with Aliv and Cable Bahamas”, given the ease of accessing and acquiring Starlink’s services, Ms Sands sought to make a convincing case by pointing to alleged weaknesses in the wireless satellite provider’s business model. She replied: “We are certainly watching Starlink and comparing their service to our service.

“Starlink being a wireless means of connectivity doesn’t give you 100 percent connectivity year-round. We are in the hurricane belt. We have weather a lot, so persons who do have Starlink you will have experienced some congestion or latency or disruption in service.

“While persons may have been driven to take Starlink because of cost, because of convenience, because we know we don’t have infrastructure nationwide and it has become popular.... We are comparing the rates.” This did not convince the attendee who asked the earlier question, as he replied that customers “can just go online and purchase the thing” from Starlink “and it’s there”.

They contrasted this with the “typical experience” with Cable Bahamas and Aliv, which saw customers have to call a central office, sometimes take several attempts to get through, and then receive an installation date “sometime in the future” which required the prospective client to be at home. He questioned why Aliv and Cable Bahamas could not implement a system where “you pick up the box, plug it in and you’re good to go”. Ms Sands, in reply, admitted: “We’re not there yet but we are looking at means of getting the wireless products to our customers at a faster rate; like you said, order online and it’s delivered. We are looking at that. Unfortunately, we do not have stores on every island. We are looking at that to have a means if someone orders through our business solutions line that we can ship the device over to you.”

The Cable Bahamas executive also argued that “Starlink does not have a customer service team in The Bahamas to help you when you have a problem” and that, while all customer payments to the satellite provider are exported outside the country to the US, those to the BISX-listed communications provider remain here.

“When you talk about keeping staff employed and laying people off, that’s it right there,” Ms Sands said. Starlink, though, has been particularly popular when it comes to providing Internet connectivity and service in remote Family Islands that are not covered by BTC and Cable Bahamas/Aliv infrastructure.

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 15 of the Exempted Limited Partnership Act, 1995 notice is hereby given that:

(a) EMERGING INCOME FUND LTD. is in dissolution

(b) the date of commencement of the disso lution is the 10th day of May, 2024

(c) the liquidator is Anthony L. M. Inder Rieden

For the above-named company

Anthony L. M. Inder Rieden Liquidator

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, (No. 45 of 2000), notice is hereby given that:

(a) EMERGING INCOME FUND LTD. is in dissolution

(b) the date of commencement of the disso lution is the 10th day of May, 2024

(c) the liquidator is Anthony L. M. Inder Rieden

For the above-named company

Anthony L. M. Inder Rieden Liquidator NOTICE

ELON MUSK

Apprenticeship initiative to get persons ‘off the streets’

will give them social skills, and then we will also concentrate on a short, but very intense, programme on math and English.”

Mr Goudie said the apprenticeship initiative will initially target the maritime industry and expand to other sectors such as information and communications technology (ICT), hospitality and construction.

He added: “To start, the industry we’re targeting is the marine industry, which has thousands of jobs available. Then target other work sectors, such as ICT, hospitality, building. The building trade needs lots of people, especially in the Family Islands. And, of course, they’re not going to be left out, and neither are

will have an actual professional certificate that says that they have passed the requirements. When they are finished, they will have certificates that say: ‘I can do this work’.”

Mr Goudie said the apprenticeship programme is also working with the Department of Labour and the Department of Immigration to determine the industries that apply for large numbers of work permits so that it can find and train Bahamians to fill those roles. He added that the main goal of the initiative is to “get Bahamians employed and off the streets”.

“Through the Chamber of Commerce, we’re going to be coming to businesses. We’ve already gone to some businesses that set up our original target for the 200.

Immigration to determine how many work permits have we got in certain sectors, and see where do we need Bahamians to get this filled. So, that’s our target. We’re trying to get Bahamians employed and off the streets, out of trouble and being pillars in the society. That’s our main incentive.”

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IN THE MATTER of the Quieting Titles Act, 1959 Chap 393 of the Statute Law of the Bahamas

AND IN THE MATTER of a tract of land comprising Thirteen and Three hundred and Sixty-nine thousandths (13.369) acres situate approximately 0.85 miles Northwest of Haynes Avenue in the settlement of Governors Harbour in the island of Eleuthera one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas

AND IN THE MATTER of the Petition of Jenifer Doon McKinney

NOTICE OF PETITION

NOTICE is hereby given that by Petition filed in the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas on the 22nd day of December, A D 2022 JENNIFER

DOON MCKINNEY of Old Queen s Highway in the Settlement of Governors Harbour in the Island of Eleuthera one of the islands of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas (hereinafter called, “the Petitioner”) claims to be the owner in fee simple estate in possession of the tract of land described as:

ALL THAT piece parcel or tract of land comprising Thirteen and Three hundred and Sixty-nine thousandths (13.369)

N O T I C E

IN THE ESTATE OF MARVIN LORENZO BETHEL late of 21 Guyana Court, Flamingo Gardens in the Western District of the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, deceased.

NOTICE is hereby given that all persons having any claims or demands against the above-named Estate are requested to send the same duly certified to the undersigned on or before Friday the 31st day of May 2024 after which the Personal Representatives will proceed to distribute the assets of the deceased among the persons entitled thereto having regard only to the claims of which the Personal Representatives shall then have had notice. AND NOTICE is hereby also given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to make full settlement on or before the date hereinbefore mentioned.

CASH FOUNTAIN Chambers 11 Armstrong Street P. O. Box N-476 Nassau, The Bahamas Attorneys for the Personal Representative

2022/CLE/QUI/01783 Page 3 of 4

China approves $290m new hospital financing

Export-Import Bank of the US - and other government-owned development banks and multilateral institutions but there was little to no “appetite” by others to take the hospital project.

He pointed out that multiple other Caribbean nations, such as Barbados, Trinidad and Guyana, were already exploiting low-cost Chinese loans to finance major healthcare and other infrastructure projects throughout the region so The Bahamas’ decision has not been taken in isolation.

“Everything is coming together very nicely and is actually moving quite rapidly,” Dr Darville told Tribune Business. “First, it was trying to find financing and completion of the feasibility studies and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and going out to market to try and find resources.

“We got approved for the Chinese Concessional Funding Facility probably about a month ago. There is this Chinese concessional loan in the Caribbean where many Caribbean countries are trying to get funding for capital works projects.”

Dr Darville reiterated that the Government had initially gone “out to the markets” in a bid to finance the new hospital via a public-private partnership (PPP) model, where private investors would help to raise the necessary capital and provide expertise to construct the facility, but it was unable to access funding at reasonable interest rates/debt servicing costs.

As a result, The Bahamas switched to seeking financing on a “country-bycountry” basis, and Beijing - via the China ExportImport Bank - has proven accommodating. “The Chinese agreed for concessional funding of just under $290m at 2 percent for a 20-year period,” Dr Darville said.

“We did the feasibility study and the EIA, but didn’t want to move on anything until we had a pretty good idea of where the funding was coming from. Now this has come to the forefront, myself, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources are now in a good position to choose the site and also to speak to residents in close proximity to get their input.”

Hence this week’s Town Hall meetings. The first will be held at the Stapledon School Auditorium on Dolphin Drive tomorrow night at 7pm, with the second scheduled to take place at Living Waters Kingdom Ministries on Warren Street this Thursday also starting at the same time.

“Residents in the area can come and give their input on what they think of the project, and what the project is all about,” Dr Darville added, promising that they would be supplied with “detail” on all aspects of the new hospital. He confirmed that the 50-acre site will be located on the opposite side to residential areas on the road connecting JFK Drive with Saunders Beach.

Dr Darville last year confirmed that 14 acres out of the total 50 are being

NOTICE

Takeoff Investment Company Ltd.

Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas registered in the Register of Companies under the registration number 204849 B.

(In Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that the liquidation and the winding up of the Company is complete and the Company has been struck off the Register of Companies maintained by the Registrar General.

Dated this 9th day of May A.D. 2024.

CARLOS AUGUSTO SIQUEIRA JUNQUEIRA Liquidator

NOTICE Skippy Partners Ltd.

Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas registered in the Register of Companies under the registration number 211296 B.

(In Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that the liquidation and the winding up of the Company is complete andthe Company has been struck off the Register of Companies maintained by the Registrar General.

Dated this 9th day of May A.D. 2024.

DANIEL LIAM RUMMERY Liquidator

NOTICE Noxy Ltd.

Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas registered in the Register of Companies under the registration number 208884 B.

(In Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that the liquidation and the winding up of the Company is complete and the Company has been struck off the Register of Companies maintained by the Registrar General.

Dated this 9th day of May A.D. 2024.

Felipe Guimarães Santos Liquidator

obtained from Sir Franklyn Wilson and his companies.

“We had a negotiation ongoing with him,” Dr Darville said then of talks with the Arawak Homes chair.

“He has agreed in principle that he would allow us to continue the project. Our job is to now finalise the equity: A payment or a land swap. We negotiated that this was the best way to go. He has agreed in principle, and conceded, to allow the project to go forward pending us giving him compensation.”

And the likely heavy Chinese construction involvement was yesterday also seized upon by a former minister of health.

Dr Duane Sands, now the FNM’s chairman, told Tribune Business: “There are so many issues when you start talking about a PPP similar to what happened at Baha Mar because all the employees are nonBahamian. You have to ask: What is the benefit for us?”

Dr Darville, while acknowledging that Chinese labour and contractors frequently accompany loans and financing provided by state-owned institutions, pledged that the Davis administration will seek to maximise Bahamian participation and ensure that the financial benefits are felt locally.

“What happens with Chinese concessional loans and the China Export-Import Bank is that there’s a Chinese contractor directly tied in,” he told Tribune Business. “In our negotiating process, I can assure you the Bahamian people will get the best end of the stick with more Bahamian

manpower numbers on the project than Chinese.

“The [loan] details have not been finalised. It’s not completed yet. The terms of the labour component will be completely transparent to the Bahamian people like the Gateway [airport road] project. We’re going to negotiate in the interests of Bahamian workers to ensure we have more Bahamian workers on the project that Chinese workers.

“You’re right. Typically these concessional loans from China come with a labour component, and we’re going to do our best to ensure Bahamians benefit financially from this project.” Chinese contractors and labour have taken the lead, dominant role on not just Baha Mar but also The Pointe project and British Colonial’s upgrades in downtown Nassau.

Dr Darville said the Government, once the main contractor is selected and the loan finalised, is aiming to “break ground” on the new hospital by September this year. Asked how long the construction process will take, he added: “The contractual term for the concessional loan facility is anywhere from 30 months to 36 months once you start construction. That means it

NOTICE

In the Estate of MARICHAL RICARDO COX late of Rocky Pine Road, in the Western District of the Island of New Providence, The Bahamas, deceased.

NOTICE is hereby given that all persons having any claim or demand against the above Estate are requested to send their names, addresses and particulars of the same certified in writing to the undersigned on or before the 24th May, 2024 and if required, to prove such debts or claims, or in default may be excluded from any distribution. After the above date the assets will be distributed having regard only to the proved debts or claims of which the Executors shall have had Notice.

Dated the 9th May, A.D., 2024.

McKAY, CULMER & ASSOCIATES Chambers Duffus House Annex 36B Sears Road Nassau, Bahamas Attorneys for the Estate

will be more than two-andhalf years.

“This doesn’t happen by chance,” the minister revealed of the loan. “I went throughout the Caribbean. I went to Guyana, I went to Trinidad. The Chinese are building and funding many healthcare facilities throughout the Caribbean.

“I’ve spoken to my counterparts in the Caribbean. It’s very interesting. The entire region is using Chinese financing for major infrastructure works.

Barbados is, Trinidad is, Guyana is. Everybody is dealing with Chinese financing. We looked at the political implications. We reached out to the US Export-Import Bank, we reached out to others. The majority didn’t have the appetite in the early stages.”

Dr Darville assured that the Government, as well as the Ministry of Works, will have engineers and

project monitors on-site during the hospital’s construction “to ensure the Bahamian people end up with a product that meets their requirements and lasts us for many years.

“We want value for money. We don’t want a hospital with a turnkey,” he added. “I don’t want the Bahamian people to think the Chinese will come, build a hospital and throw the key at us. This will be a Bahamian hospital, designed and built.”

The new hospital’s total projected cost, $289.399m, was revealed for the first time in documents accompanying the 2023-2024 Budget last May. Some $2m, and $8m, of that sum was due to be spent on “preparatory works” during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 fiscal years, respectively, with construction projected to ramp up in 2025-2026 with an $160m outlay.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that LINDA MAXIMILIEN of Clifton Street, off Mount Royal Avenue, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 13th day of April 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

The 44th Annual General Meeting of the Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union Limited will be held on Friday, May 31st, 2024, at Fusion Superflex beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Registration starts at 4:00 p.m.

All members are encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served!!!

BPL

‘shambles’: We pay now or pay later

FROM PAGE B1

for in our power bills is the decades of deficits, losses and debt. It gets to the point where nobody takes it or the taxpayer has to pay for a big write-off so somebody actually buys it.

“It’s a shambles. You pay now or you pay later, but you are going to pay. We are paying for massive inefficiencies and it just seems like the same old thing. We’ve got to get somebody in there who knows how to run these things, run transmission and distribution services. BPL has got to get efficient. They’ve got to figure out how to run efficiently.”

Mr Pinder last Thursday told the Senate that BPL needs more than 400 mega watts (MW) of new generation capacity to address a “dire” situation requiring between 60-80 percent of its existing plant to be replaced within five years.

He sought to justify the Government’s plans for fundamental energy sector reform by affirming

that both BPL and the Public Treasury “cannot afford” the estimated $291m required to invest in new generation engines nationwide.

Mr Myers recalled the saying that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”, arguing that this applied to the approaches adopted by successive FNM and PLP administrations towards BPL by delaying the inevitable reforms.

“Everybody’s scratching their heads wondering what the problem is. Talk and don’t act,” he added of past policies. “It adds to the existing fiscal condition of the country and where are we going? It’s not going in the right direction. Hats off to them if this administration makes the decision. At least they made a decision. Let’s hope they do it.”

Mr Myers recalled that BPL’s high energy costs, unreliable supply and inefficiencies were all “critical ten years ago” when the Chamber sought to measure

BAHAMIAN AVIATION CHIEF’S

the Embraer Legacy to the Department of Justice and the US marshals would sell both planes.

“The Bankruptcy Court entered that stipulation on March 22, 2024, and Aranha returned the Embraer Legacy to the Department of Justice on March 25, 2024.” Mr Aranha, in a brief statement yesterday, said: “We just honoured our agreement and are happy to see it come to an end.

“I hope they [Mr Ray and his team] get support for the reorganisation plan they put together. As a customer we will be voting in favour of it.” Mr Aranha previously described himself as “one of the largest Bahamian victims” of the crypto exchange’s implosion - a reference to the fact that $11m related to repayment of the loan taken out to purchase the two planes was in a “customer account” when FTX collapsed.

The settlement, which was seen by this newspaper, stipulated that Mr Aranha and another of his companies, Island Air Capital,

were to be paid $1.8m to cover “reasonable costs” they incurred in maintaining the two aircraft valued at a combined $28m when they were purchased with financing provided by FTX just months before its November 2022 collapse. The $1.8m is to be paid from the proceeds generated when the planes are auctioned off by the US government in a bid to raise monies that will be used to compensate FTX victims. One of the aircraft, a Bombardier Global jet, was previously seized by the US authorities and is now in their custody.

The other, the Embraer Legacy, had remained in Nassau under the control of Mr Aranha and his companies. As part of the deal, he had 30 days - until April 21, 2024 - to fly the plane to Fort Lauderdale and hand it over to the US federal authorities. In return for beating this deadline by four weeks, he will receive a further $183,000 to cover all expenses associated with handing over the plane, taking total compensation to $2m.

these impacts on the private sector and wider economy as part of its studies on VAT’s introduction.

“It was almost a $1bn saving to everybody’s bottom line if we got things moving in the right direction,” Mr Myers said of those studies. “It was a significant number if we got power down to 11 cents per kilowatt hour. They [the Government] had offers on the table to do that.

“It would have been a massive contribution to everybody’s bottom line. It was millions of dollars per year in savings to the Government, the private sector, to everybody. That money would instead have gone to everybody’s bottom line, so rather than paying for oil, it goes into the economy and would be a massive shot in the arm to the rest of the economy.

“It adds free cash that people can spend on expanding their business or building their office or building their own home. Think about what we all could have saved and put

into our pocket if that power was at 11 cents per KWh. Think about the hundreds of millions of dollars that could have gone into other things than buying US or Middle Eastern oil,” Mr Myers continued.

“It could have gone into building schools, paving roads and equipping the police. Think about how many hundreds of millions the Government could have used for the development of the nation, and how that could have gone into the economy and expanded businesses. It’s absolute insanity. It’s hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s absolute insanity. It’s been going on for far too long.

“The electricity bills that people are trying to pay, it’s just killing them. You’ve got people paying electricity bills almost as high as their mortgage. It’s nuts.”

Mr Pinder, last week affirming that 60 percent of New Providence’s existing generation capacity, and 80 percent of what is present in the Family Islands, will be “at or near the end of their

3-DAY FTX JET HAND OVER

Mr Aranha and his companies have also agreed to withdraw, and not pursue, litigation they launched against Mr Ray and FTX’s US estate in September 2023 which sought an order from the Delaware Bankruptcy Court that the automatic asset freeze imposed by the Chapter 11 proceedings be lifted and not apply to the two aircraft.

Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s fraud convicted founder, was said by US prosecutors not to have objected to the agreement while the deal has also been signed-off by Ryan Salame, the former head of the crypto exchange’s Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets.

Meanwhile, the Bahamian liquidators for FTX Digital Markets are also supporting a Chapter 11 reorganisation plan that will see the crypto exchange’s creditors and

investors recover more than they are owed. “

“The plan does more than return petition date value to creditors: It includes potential incremental recoveries to compensate creditors for the time value of their money trapped at the FTX group since the petition date [November 11, 2022]. Indeed, the debtors currently forecast that customers and digital asset loan creditors will recover between 118 percent and 142% percent of their petition date claim values,” Mr Ray revealed.

“The monetisation effort has been successful and the debtors currently expect to have approximately $12.8bn in cash as of the expected effective date of the plan, enough to pay all non-governmental customers and creditors in full based on the petition date value of their claims, subject to the conditions and assumptions

useful life” by 2029, added that BPL’s financing needs to effect change for Nassau alone are some $211m. He said BPL’s reliance on rental generation for 113 MW of power on New Providence, and 32 MW in the Family Islands, is costing the state-owned utility an “unsustainable” $42m per annum that it is unable to fully recover from household and business customers.

And, with BPL needing to replace some 72 percent of its own “peak load generation” capacity for New Providence over the next five years, and energy demand anticipated to increase by an average 5 percent per annum, the Attorney General argued that the “status quo” was untenable given the financial numbers involved.

“BPL has severe generation constraints, and the picture is not looking any better going forward under the status quo,” Mr Pinder said. “It is a safe estimate that 60 percent of BPL’s plant in New Providence

described in this disclosure statement.

“Now that the debtors have reached a situation where projected cash covers all non-governmental creditor claims, the debtors intend to continue to gradually monetise their remaining assets in order to maximise the amount available for payment of

and 80 percent in the Family Islands needs to be replaced within the next five years due to the generation engines being at or near the end of their useful life.

“Accounting for contingencies, at least 340 MW is needed in New Providence. This is to account for peak load, which was 281 MW in 2023 plus what’s called the N-2 contingencies in case you lose your two largest generators. We also anticipate a 5 percent growth in generation demand each year going forward.

“As to the generation needs, BPL requires replacement for 113 MW of rental generation and 203 MW of aged or obsolete generation fleet. Look at those numbers again: More than 40 percent of the peak load generation is rented by BPL, and over 72 percent of peak load generation that BPL owns needs replacement in the near future,” he added.

“It is estimated in New Providence alone, BPL anticipates needing more than $211m to replace the ageing fleet, to incorporate renewables and to facilitate maintenance/overhauls and other auxiliary needs.”

supplemental amounts to creditors.

“The debtors anticipate reducing all of these assets to cash opportunistically based on market prices and the timing of distributions, and certain assets may not be sold immediately but held for sale for some reasonable period of time based on the nature of the asset and market conditions.”