Ladies and gentlemen, Honourable Prime Minister, esteemed members of the Government … I think that I can now safely say: Dear friends.

I’m glad that we are finally all here! It’s great that we have all made the effort of coming to this island to break the ground of the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve together. This, I think, is a very important milestone for both MSC Group and The Bahamas and it is therefore only right that we should celebrate it all together.

I was keen to bring you all here to show you the current state of this island before the redevelopment work starts.

Today we stand in an unpopulated, uninhabitable island that has been spoiled by many years of sand extraction operations.

The next time that we meet here we will encounter a completely different place. We will find a flourishing environment, a pristine marine reserve populated by thousands of indigenous Caribbean trees, plants and flowers. These waters will once again host local coral and fish species. With 11,400 feet of beaches, this island will be put back in its original unspoiled state and will also be ready to welcome thousands of international visitors every day.

You will struggle to recognise this place, because you will be in paradise.

Our partnership will turn this industrial wasteland into a thriving environment for man and nature alike. This, I think, is something that is worth celebrating together.

As you all know well, this partnership did not start with this project. It goes back decades in time.

Our sister company, MSC Cargo, was the first of global shipping line to serve The Bahamas, and currently the sole major supplier to the Freeport Container Terminal, accounting for nearly 99% of the containers handled.

Since 2001, MSC Cargo operations in Freeport have generated 20,000 direct and indirect jobs and had an economic impact of nearly 1 billion dollars.

Today MSC Cargo continues investing heavily in The Bahamas. In 2015 we started a 250 million dollar expansion of the Freeport Container Terminal that will result in 600 additional jobs and increase the Port’s output by 40%, reaching two million containers per year. We are also currently considering further expansions of the Port amounting to a further 300 million dollar investment.

Beyond Freeport, MSC was also one of the very first companies to partner with the government in the development of the Nassau Container Port. Our joint work there effectively opened the nation’s capital to the world, allowing it to trade directly with more countries and creating substantial benefits for the Bahamian people.

In recent years we extended our partnership to cover our cruise operation, which is of course what brings us here today. Nassau and other Bahamian ports have figured prominently in our Caribbean itineraries since we arrived in this region a few years ago. Our guests’ feedback has always been extremely positive about their experiences in the shores of your beautiful islands. As an international cruise line with a global reach, we have actively profiled The Bahamas as top tourist destination around the world, well beyond its traditional North American target audience.

Since we started operating here, our cruise activities have generated more than 25 million dollars in terms of economic output and more than 400 jobs. This can look like fairly modest figures compared to the total impact of our entire Group. And yet – this must be clear - this only marks the very beginning of the presence of our cruises business here in The Bahamas.

In fact, the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve will heavily add to our commitment to your beautiful country. As a result of the 200 million dollar investment that we have made, we will engage more than 1,000 locals to work on the massive development that Sandy Cay will go through as we transform it into the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. This will result in substantial economic benefits for the region.

Once the work is finalised, we will employ over and above 120 locals in a regular basis to run the operations. Furthermore, as part of a best-in-class recruiting and training partnership with local institutions, we will have a crew school in Nassau. In 2017, this will result in the training of 240 Bahamians who will join our growing fleet. 20 were proudly recruited and trained already in 2016 and are currently working aboard our ships.

Over the years MSC has heavily invested in three key pillars of the Bahamian economy: shipping, tourism and maritime education. We continue to do this today, and will look to continue doing so in the future.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As we have dug deeper into the project, we have substantially increased our initial investment and committed more time to the development of the marine reserve. This way we will ensure that the end result lives up to our outmost expectations. This is what it takes to build a real paradise.

Our cruise ships will start calling here in November 2018. MSC Seaside, a radically innovative mega cruise ship that will become our flagship when it enters into service at the end of this year, will visit this island on a weekly basis, all year round. This IS our long-term commitment to The Bahamas.

With this in mind, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you again, Honourable Prime Minister Christie, you and your Government, for your outstanding commitment to our partnership and to this project, right from the start. I sincerely hope that we will continue working together for the foreseeable feature.

I would also like to thank all the members of the government that are here today, as well as others that could not make it, for helping make this a reality. In particular, I would like to thank:

· The Deputy Prime Minister Davis

· Minister Wilchcombe [TOURISM]

· Minister Hanna-Martin [TRANSPORT]

· Minister Dorsett [ENVIRONMENT]

· Minister Gibson [LABOUR]

· Minister Fitzgerald [EDUCATION]

· Minister Allyson Maynard Gibson [LEGAL AFFAIRS]

· Minister Nottage [NATIONAL SECURITY]

· Minister Mitchell [FOREIGN AFFAIRS]

· Minister Nottage [NATIONAL SECURITY]

· Minister Darville [GRAND BAHAMA]

· Minister of State Halkitis [FINANCE]

· Minister of State Rolle [INVESTMENT]

Dear Ministers: I am well aware that the realisation of such a project and our overall, broader partnership requires dedication from many different parts of a government, as well as a high level of coordination among them. For this reason, on behalf of MSC, I am very grateful for all the work that you all have pursued. Keep it up!

Last but not least, I would like to personally thank Sir Baltron, who is with us here today, for his outstanding dedication to this project, and for facilitating a fluid contact between the Government and us. Sir Baltron, we would not be here today without you.

Before I finish, I would like to reaffirm my main message for the day: our strong partnership keeps getting stronger. The development of the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve is yet another important milestone in our long-term partnership, and one that will again create great value for your economy and for your citizens.

Let me make this absolutely clear: this project will put The Bahamas right in front of the whole world!

Honourable Prime Minister Christie, after your speech, please join me for the formal ground breaking so that work can finally start on this amazing project that sees us working together. Thank you.

Bahamas Information Services