Aragonite Developer Plans Factory Outside Port Area
By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
The manufacturing facility for a proposed $50 million aragonite mining project will be located on Grand Bahama outside the Port area, a spokesperson yesterday saying it was unclear whether Wednesday night’s Town Meeting was truly representative of local community opinion on the project.
Katherine
Smith, the former FNM Senator and Atlanta consul-general who is acting
as spokesperson for Nassau Island Development Company, said the firm was
now awaiting a formal government response on how it should proceed with
conducting its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
She
added that the company had submitted its first documents to the
Government two weeks ago, and Wednesday’s Town Meeting was designed to
show the company’s transparency with regard to its plans.
Tribune
Business sources said most persons speaking at the meeting voiced their
opposition to the Nassau Island Development Company project, especially
fishermen who felt its location - at Great Bursus Cay - would impact
the area’s main fishing ground and their livelihood source.
K
P Turnquest, the FNM MP for eastern Grand Bahama, expressed his
unhappiness that 30-50 persons, who have no connection to the
constituency, and appeared to include Urban Renewal workers, had been
bussed in to attend it.
Among
those attending the meeting, apart from Mr Turnquest, Senator Tanisha
Tynes and former MP Ken Russell, was Michelle Reckley, the
Government-appointed head of Urban Renewal in Freeport.
Mr
Turnquest said his understanding was that the meeting was called to
inform east Grand Bahama residents, who would be most affected, about
the project and its likely impact.
“I
couldn’t understand why they would load up the room with people who
have no interest in the discussion,” Mr Turnquest told Tribune Business.
“They were called and asked if they would come to the meeting. Somebody
provided the bus.”
Emphasising
that he was not accusing the developers of providing the bus service,
and being responsible for their presence, Mr Turnquest said some had
come from communities such as Eight Mile Rick, and added: “I couldn’t
understand why they were there.”
Summing
up the meeting, the MP added: “It’s incumbent on the developer to do
the EIA and the rest of the work, and prove that what they’re going to
do is not going to destroy the livelihoods of people in the area.....
They can’t come to us with a blank cheque. They can’t get to second base
without first base.”
Mr
Turnquest also called on Nassau Island Development Company to ensure
that if the project did proceed it would have a training programme in
place for east Grand Bahamians, and not have to import labour.
Ms
Smith, meanwhile, said the developers “don’t know yet” whether the
opinions voiced at the Town Meeting were representative of the local
community. Apart from four fishermen, she said the others who spoke were
Fred Smith QC and Joseph Darville of Save the Bays, and persons with
“different interests”.
She
added that Geoff Moxey of Phoenix Engineering, who has been hired to
conduct Nassau Island Development Company’s EIA, had already completed
“scoping” work at Bursus Cay.
A
report on this had been sent to the Bahamas Environment, Science and
Technology Commission (BEST), detailing the company’’s harvesting,
dredging and construction works scope.
Ms
Smith said Nassau Island Development Company was now waiting for BEST
to respond to it and set out the parameters/framework for how the EIA is
to be conducted.
Emphasising
that the developers could not proceed without this, she told Tribune
Business: “We’re awaiting a response from BEST to the scoping report. It
doesn’t make sense for you to go out and do an EIA until BEST says this
is what we want.
“We’re waiting on them to tell us, on the basis of the scoping report, what’s next.”
Emphasising
that Nassau Island Development Company could mobilise within 90 days of
receiving all necessary government approvals, Ms Smith corrected
previous newspaper reports suggesting up to 800 jobs - 500 full-time,
300 construction - could be created.
While
300 construction jobs would be created at peak, this level would likely
be trimmed by 50 per cent once the harvesting section would be
completed, and full-time jobs will total 10-200.
Suggesting
that Nassau Island Development Company’s total investment would likely
be more than the previously announced $50 million, Ms Smith said the
project offered the potential to diversify the economy, create new
sources of foreign exchange, and boost entrepreneurship.
Apart
from exporting aragonite, the developer also intends to use it to
manufacture products at its own factory, and supply other Bahamas-based
manufacturers wanting it.
“The owner of the company wants to locate it [the manufacturing plant] in east or west Grand Bahama, “ Ms Smith said.
Asked
why Nassau Island Development Company was not seeking the incentives
offered in the Port area, she replied: “We would expect we would have
the Industries Encouragement Act, and get some concessions there.”
Apart
from tropical play sand, Ms Smith said aragonite was used in
agriculture and animal feed, and there were also possible applications
for fisheries projects and conch farms.
Nassau
Island Development Company believes the Bahamas is the only country in
the world that produces high quality oolitc aragonite in commercial
volumes, and its studies suggest Bursus Cay has “an infinite amount”.
“From
what our studies have said to us, this is a continually regenerating
and replenishing product, and that area can never be over-harvested,” Ms
Smith told Tribune Business.
May 09, 2014
