NASSAU, BAHAMAS- A $1billion drawdown has been provided to The Bahamas by the British government’s export credit agency, with $400 million of that sum to be allocated towards the redevelopment of Grand Bahama’s International Airport according to Prime Minister Philip Davis.
Prime Minister Davis during the Caribbean Council’s Bahamas Investment promotional event in London Thursday noted that the airport will be a green airport. Back in March Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper revealed that a Bahamian group called Aerodrome Limited will spearhead the redevelopment of the Grand Bahama International Airport in conjunction with two other partners. Cooper at the time noted that the first phase of the $170 million redevelopment of the airport will be completed no later than the first quarter of 2025.
In February, the Government of The Bahamas entered into an agreement with Aerodrome Limited, a Bahamian company; Manchester Airport Group Limited, an airport management company based in Manchester in the United Kingdom; and BHM Construction International, a company based in London.
Prime Minister Philip Davis while addressing the event also has touted the potential in monetizing and developing a new asset class through the Blue Carbon Credits market, noting that research thus far has indicated that this nation’s seas and sea-grasses absorb more carbon than the Amazon Rain Forest.
Prime Minister Davis noted that The Bahamas has had to contend with a number of external shocks, while also contending with the threat of warming oceans, rising sea levels, severe coastal erosion and the incidence of catastrophic hurricanes which continue to grow in frequency and intensity.
“If we cannot find ways to make our country more resilient to these shocks, we will not survive. If we cannot find ways to adapt, to reduce the loss of live s and livelihoods, we will not survive. But we have not abandoned hope. For us, these series of global shocks present a stark truth about the need for active and urgent partnership,” said Davis.
He added, “We estimate that more than 40 percent of our national debt is due to damage caused by hurricanes. That single fact casts an unflinching light on our situation. We are caught in a cycle of Disaster, Repair and Rebuild. Each hurricane, such as that category 5 monster called Dorian, unleashes catastrophic Disaster, which forces us once again, to have to Repair and Rebuild.”
Davis noted that the government is pursuing ways to grow and diversify the Bahamian economy, while at the same time actively participating in discussions seeing support from the industrialised nations.
“We are pleased that there are growing pledges to provide reparation for the damage being done by climate change. As we are on the receiving end of their carbon emissions, we welcome this move towards fairness and climate justice. We are also engaged in discussions relating to wider reparations, for our many losses resulting from the slave trade, and colonialisation,” Davis noted.
Prime Minister Davis also pointed to government’s efforts in developing a market in Blue Carbon Credits.
“Thus far, our research findings indicate that our seas and sea-grasses absorb more carbon than the Amazon Rain Forest. With such a sizeable resource, we see enormous potential in monetizing and developing this new asset class, one which the IMF has already indicated that they will support,” said Davis.
