Six years after the Christie administration signed an agreement with an American development company that provided for the transfer of nearly 10,000 acres of crown land on Mayaguana, the government yesterday signed an amended heads of agreement, reclaiming more than half of that land.
The signing came as a result of three years of negotiations to get back 5,825 acres of land for the Bahamian people, according to Tourism Minister Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, who spoke at the contract signing ceremony at the Office of the Attorney General.
The development was initially approved under the Christie administration as a joint venture between the government and the Boston-based I-Group.  Under that agreement, both parties owned the project through the Mayaguana Development Company. However, under the new deal the joint venture arrangement has been cancelled.
During the renegotiation process members of the current government harshly criticized the Christie administration for what they termed "the great land give-away".
"We are happy to have some of the waterfront and wonderful interior land returned to the land bank of The Bahamas to the amount of 5,825 acres," Vanderpool-Wallace said yesterday.
"We thought that the amount of acreage that was put forward in the original agreement was something that we thought we wanted to scale down on and move in another direction.
"For those who may have some difficulty understanding what 5,825 acres is, this is equivalent to getting Bimini back, getting Ragged Island back, getting Little Sand San Salvador back. That's the size and scope that we are talking about and Mayaguana, that is larger than the island of New Providence, so it is quite a significant island for development."
Vanderpool-Wallace said there are no new incentives in the amended heads of agreement.
Within the next 18 months, the I-Group is expected to complete the first phase of the development, which includes the resurfacing of the airstrip, upgrading of the airport terminal building, and construction of a 25 unit upscale boutique resort at North Beach.
"So you will see very quickly vertical construction on the ground," said Michael Scott, chairman of the Hotel Corporation of The Bahamas.
The plans also call for the construction of a marina.
Marc Herdegen, a vice president at I-Group, said he is pleased with the amended contract.
"We have come up with an agreement that puts in place a right-sized agreement," Herdegen said. "I think we'll be able to proceed at a pace that will be able to provide opportunities for Bahamians and opportunities for us to be successful."
Scott added that the I-Group development is a model that will be a template for future developments  in the islands of The Bahamas.
The first phase will also include hiking trails, a sauna and spa, a small clinic, and a golf putting green and driving range.
Over the next 15 years, the developers are also expected to bring on a hotel operator to develop and operate a 225-room hotel resort on Mayaguana.
The development was expected to materialize over a 15-year period.
Vanderpool-Wallace added that what's important about the new deal is that a significant portion of the land that the government got back for Bahamians is "beachfront, good quality land that now becomes available for future developments in ways that they see fit."
The original development was expected to be a $1.8 billion investment. It is still unclear whether the developers will still invest that much.

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