Minister of State for Investments Khaalis Rolle said yesterday private-public partnerships (PPPs) offer the most effective mechanism of providing The Bahamas with much-needed infrastructure ahead of an international investment forum.
Speaking from the 2014 World Investment Forum (WIF) in Geneva, Switzerland, Rolle told Guardian Business that a lack of resources for infrastructural developments remains a "major challenge" facing The Bahamas.
"One of the major challenges we have as a government is that we just don't have the resources [needed]. The mechanism for resolving it has to be through PPPs," said Rolle, who will participate in a WIF panel advocating PPPs later this week.
This year's WIF, an international platform for foreign direct investment policy formulation and promotion, has attracted 3,800 participants around the theme of investing in sustainable development.
The government issued a request for expressions of interest (EOIs) regarding a host of infrastructural development projects throughout the country worth over $175 million.
Notable projects listed in the original invitation include refurbishment of the deteriorating General Post Office and road construction in North Andros, both valued at $40 million.
Rolle added that officials from the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) will conduct presentations on investment opportunities in The Bahamas, with an emphasis on Grand Bahama.
Although the Ministry of Finance's original deadline for EOIs ended September 30, Rolle said the government is still evaluating short and long-term projects.
Discussing the WIF, Rolle acknowledged that many of the Bahamian delegation's locally-identified issues are prevalent concerns, noting that the country needs to revamp its investment regime to further develop small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
"One of the criticisms we had of the investment regime over the years in The Bahamas was that it did not go as far as we thought it should have gone in terms of the widespread benefits that should come with investing," Rolle said.
"Small and medium-sized enterprises are still underdeveloped, despite the fact that we have some of the largest blue chip investors investing in The Bahamas."

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