Minister responsible for Investments in the Office of the Prime Minister Khaalis Rolle said yesterday the government has no intention of increasing the number of Chinese workers at the $200 million The Pointe development.
The ratio of Bahamian workers to foreign workers at the development currently stands at 70:30, and Rolle insisted there will be no compromise on the number of work permits allowed to foreign laborers.
"Like I said, there is a ratio of 70:30 which is different than any other heads of agreement that allows Chinese in the country," Rolle told reporters outside the Office of the Prime Minister.
"The actual number, we gave approximately what those numbers will be, but the ratio will remain 70:30. There is no compromise on that."
Last week, the government tabled the heads of agreement for the The Pointe development, revealing it would be granting between 400 and 500 work permits for foreign labor and requiring 70 percent Bahamian labor on the project.
Rolle's comments came after many questions arose regarding the ratio of foreign to Bahamian labor.
Rolle also discussed the importance of foreign direct investment.
He said while he understands many Bahamians would prefer Bahamians to own the majority, if not all businesses, in the country, investing does not work that way.
"If you go through the world, you will see that in most countries, including the U.S., the focus is to have as much foreign direct investments as possible," the minister said.
"Foreign direct investment underpins most economies. Not only large industrial economies like the U.S., but small island developing states like The Bahamas.
"That's something you will find is very difficult to get away from.
"I know as a nationalist, we would like to see only Bahamian investors, but there is nowhere in the world where you will find only domestic investors.
"The state of New York, for instance, they give away concessions... to attract investors whether it is domestic or international investors.
"You can do any research and you will see foreign direct investment is a discipline practiced all over the world by all governments."
Rolle added that the size of the marina at The Pointe is the only thing that will significantly change from the original plan.
"Obviously the original plans had a very large marina that would have been able to accommodate a lot of vessels and larger size vessels, but I think it was scaled down by about 50 percent," he said.
"It's less intrusive and it fits into the landscape."

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian