THE Government yesterday recovered 5,825 acres of land with the signing of a revised Heads of Agreement with the I-Group for its Mayaguana development project.
Tourism Minister Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace praised developers for their willingness to cooperate with the government to bring the $1.8 billion project in line with its revised Family Island model.
Mr Vanderpool-Wallace said the sizeable recovery of prime waterfront and inland acreage was equal to getting the island of Bimini back.
Hotel Corporation chairman Michael Scott said that the signing represented the government's commitment to moving away from the mega resort tourism model to high-end low density resorts, which are less socially and culturally intrusive, and also limits the number of acreage offered to developers.
Under the revised deal, published by Tribune Business last year, the I-Group will get enough land for its development, the rest would be made available for Bahamians to develop their own straw businesses, retail outlets and straw markets in a bid to benefit from the spin-offs the developer and its partners would create.
The I-Group will receive 2,912 acres of land for its initial phase, and has the option of acquiring another 2,913 acres maximum over eight separate development phases. This is a far cry from the original Heads of Agreement signed with the Christie administration, which granted the developer that collective acreage upfront - and a similar amount in one fell swoop at a later stage - for a collective 9,999 acres.
Mr Vanderpool-Wallace said: "Our policy is for us to make sure that we make as many opportunities available for Bahamians to develop acreage in their own ancestral lands. It's a very important part of us allowing more and more Bahamian families to become a catalyst and a stimulus for the development of that.
"This is equivalent to getting Bimini back, getting Ragged Island back, getting little San Sal back that's the size of scope of what we're talking about."
The I-Group is looking at a $5-$10 million marina in the first phase of its revised project, taking total investment in this stage to between $24-$32 million.
The marina is in addition to a $1.5 million new airport terminal for Mayaguana; a $7-$10 million spend on upgrading the runway, aprons and associated airport infrastructure; $500,000 on community projects in Mayaguana; and a $10 million boutique hotel with a minimum of 25 rooms.
Mr Vanderpool-Wallace said yesterday that enabling legislation detailing a range of investment incentives to be received by the I-Group would be tabled in the Senate today.
Once supporting legislation is passed, the Boston-based developer is scheduled to restart upgrades to the island's airstrip and airport terminal.
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