Bahamas Contractor's Association (BCA) President Leonard Sands has confirmed that BCA and Ministry of Works officials met yesterday to continue work on the draft Contractors' Bill, and Sands characterized the meeting as a positive and productive one.

He spoke with Guardian Business about it yesterday afternoon.

"We had another good meeting today with the director and the deputy directors of the Ministry of Works, and I'm very impressed. We are really working out the kinks of this bill, and it leads me to really believe that this is something that can get done in 2016. If it does it would revolutionize the industry, and really position Bahamian firms for a level of growth that we've never experienced in the history of The Bahamas," Sands said.

Meanwhile, Sands said the local industry was shaking off the effects of the shuttering of Baha Mar.

Baha Mar ripples
"I think the initial shock has faded from Baha Mar. And since the initial shock is gone I think the Bahamian contractors, creditors and everyone has started to look at other opportunities and not focus so much on what they lost or could possibly lose. So that has caused them to find opportunities in other things.

"There's much talk about development that's going to happen further down the line, which we are obviously waiting to see how they materialize, but the construction sector is really looking towards the home-building sector, and some shopping plaza and light commercial, to be the real impetus for growth in 2016," Sands said.

On the foreign direct investment (FDI) front, Sands said he thought Baha Mar had done some damage to the outlook for The Bahamas as an investment place.

The pivot
He told Guardian Business that the industry has "hit the worst part with what happened to Baha Mar." He said that everyone has now reacted to it - positively, in his view - and the industry has pivoted away from that model.

"They're not going to get caught off guard like that again. I'm talking about real estate people, I'm talking about vendors, I'm talking about lumber suppliers, I'm talking about contractors: nobody will get hit like that again. What that has done is really prepared our people to take advantage of any real opportunities that could exist in the construction sector moving forward."

Skin in the game
Sands also said he expected to see a change in the tourism model.

"I think Baha Mar is going to cause investors to look differently at what they intend to build here. I've seen the prime minister talk about stuff down in Inagua, some stuff in Cat Island that may be different, and I think that while we're watching on our side because we are going to provide those services in terms of construction, we are looking forward to something not so massive, easier to put our arms around, and possibly things that contractors could participate in from a financial aspect as well.

"We're looking at how do we participate from a builder/investor stake as well. That's the conversation we're having," Sands said. "For us, that would be the model. You have to make sure you put some skin in the game if you want to make sure everyone is comfortable with everyone at the table because everyone has a vested interest."

Family Island
In its September quarterly economic review (QER), published on December 31, 2015, the Central Bank of The Bahamas (CBOB) said tourism-related foreign investment projects continued to provide the main impetus to the construction sector over the review period, although the bank noted that the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings halted work on the large-scale Baha Mar hotel development that was nearing completion.

Sands said tourism-led investment projects that can affect Nassau will be limited.

"That's how we look at it. I think that there is going to be more activity on the Family Islands, and you are going to see more of the larger construction companies looking to the Family Islands to be where they are going to find more value work. But I think all in all, when you remove Nassau from that mix, projects have survived and done well in the Out Islands and I see them as where the real growth is going to happen in the economy in 2016," he said.

The Pointe
Even so, Sands said the BCA was "looking to see what The Pointe can offer in terms of contractor involvement."

One hundred percent owned and funded by China Construction America (CCA) - the general contractor on the Baha Mar project - The Pointe is a lifestyle and residential development in downtown Nassau next to the British Colonial Hilton. It will consist of 110 condo units, a 200 room hotel, movie theaters, retail shops, a performing arts centre, a spa, entertainment venues, at least 14 restaurants, a marina and parking garage.

The $250 million project is expected to create over 200 construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs once completed in 2017. CCA acquired the six-acre property for The Pointe in December 2014.

Said Sands: "As that project matures and as it goes vertical, they are going to have to include some contractor involvement that may give opportunity for some of our Bahamian contractors to get in there and do some significant work."

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