The Chinese company contracted to build a domestic and international port facility in North Abaco broke ground in June, and is still awaiting government permits prior to the start of major operations, according to the top executive in charge of the project.
The $46 million port facility is expected to be completed by summer 2015, according to Felix Q. Chang, country manager at China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) Ltd., who said the company has so far had a "positive experience" in The Bahamas.
"We are still reviewing all the drawings, but temporary site offices have already been done. We are waiting for the permits now," Chang said.
Appearing as a guest on "Bahamas at Sunrise", Chang gave a brief history of the project. He is one of a number of high-powered members of the business community who will speak at the Abaco Business Outlook in North Abaco next week. The conference is part of a series of business-focused gatherings organized by The Counsellors Ltd., beginning with the Bahamas Business Outlook and continuing throughout the year with conferences on an expanding number of Family Islands.
He said in 2011, The Bahamas government entered discussions with CHEC to construct a domestic and an international port facility in North Abaco. Funding was secured in 2012, with the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of China and the government of The Bahamas jointly covering the majority of the cost.
Questioned about the potential environmental impacts of the project, Chang pointed out that CHEC has done a number of projects around the world, and the expertise gained through those projects would be brought into play here.
"We have done a series of studies and modelings, in terms of environmental protection," he said. "We are going to make sure that when we are doing the construction, we will follow all the laws and regulations in The Bahamas, and respect the local community for sure."
CHEC broke ground on the facility in June, and is expected to soon begin construction work on a Little Abaco bridge which will link North Abaco and Little Abaco.
The 45.4-acre, state-of-the-art port facility is expected to generate dozens of jobs during construction and create new business opportunities post construction in the North Abaco community.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian