Panama City, Panama - The city of Freeport is making its mark in the global logistics arena, as executives of Grand Bahama Port Authority Limited (GBPA) work actively to promote its attractiveness and seek opportunities for investment. From Panama and Brazil, to Qatar, China and Switzerland, the GBPA has been deliberate in highlighting the benefits of doing business in Freeport.
Derek Newbold, GBPA's senior manager for business development and the Invest Grand Bahama Unit, represented GBPA at the 3rd Annual Central American & Caribbean Capital Projects & Infrastructure Summit, which opened in Panama City, Panama on Wednesday.
Featured as a platform speaker on the opening day, Newbold expressed that the forum presented yet another ideal opportunity to promote Freeport as the "premier hub" for warehousing, distribution and valued addition services in the Caribbean/Atlantic region.
"GBPA's emphasis is on attracting investments that can take advantage of the physical and industrial infrastructure that currently exists in Freeport. The summit provided a captive and attentive audience, representing a number of emerging and developed markets." Newbold said.
"My contribution focused on Freeport's strategic location, investment incentives and development opportunities. Each segment was met with high interest and was very well received." he continued.
President of GBPA Ian Rolle shared the company has taken a new approach with regard to investment promotion activities and its participation at major events.
"While GBPA continues to exhibit at prominent industry conferences and trade forums, we have sought to have a speaking presence as well," commented Rolle.
"This approach has given us greater leverage and reach, especially with key decision makers. Freeport's reputation is gaining momentum and we have received a number of invites over the past year. The Freeport story is generating a lot of interest in the region," he concluded.
Addressing an audience of more than 500 regional executives, Newbold added that the summit was exceptionally well attended and sponsored by major industry players.
"I've had meetings with a number of executives from major corporations, including Maersk, Sealand and MetroBank. They are all keen on participating in the growth of Freeport's economy in some way and in the case of Maersk and Sealand, re-establishing a foothold." Newbold added.
The 3rd Annual Central American & Caribbean Capital Projects & Infrastructure Summit is a 2-day forum, hosting more than 65 speakers from major capital project developers, concessionaires, investors and government regulators in the region. The summit provides insight into investment and development opportunities, as well as challenges across the region's energy, transport, mining, water and sanitation, social and telecommunications infrastructure sectors.
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