NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Long Island MP Adrian Gibson says his constituents are “tired of being tricked and fooled” as he questioned the status of the Calypso Cove project, a long-awaited $250 million cruise port development that was first announced three years ago but has yet to materialize.
Speaking in Parliament, Gibson called into question the project’s lack of visible progress. “We’ve had a flashy groundbreaking ceremony, but since then, absolutely nothing. People were hopeful, but now, three years later, we’re left with more questions than answers. What happened to that investment?” Gibson said.
The Calypso Cove project, spearheaded by Azul Destinations Ltd., is planned to be located on the southern tip of Long Island. It was expected to boost the island’s economy by accommodating up to 12,000 cruise visitors daily once fully completed. The project was touted as a significant step towards providing sustainable economic growth for Long Island.
“Long Island people are tired of being tricked, fooled, and told that investments are coming to our island, and we never see these investments materialize. Fancy groundbreakings, but no investment materialized. Year after year, and this has been ongoing now. This is going to be the third year since the groundbreaking in South Long Island. And there are people who have questions about it because people were hopeful about the potential of this development,” Gibson added.
Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, Minister for Tourism, Aviation, and Investments, responded to Gibson’s inquiries, stating, “There is an approval in principle subject to doing certain things. The environmental approval takes a considerable period of time. It lies mainly in the hands of the developers to engage the appropriate consultants. And then those environmental studies are signed off as satisfactory or not by DEPP. If they’re not, the project doesn’t proceed. If it is satisfactory to DEPP, then the project goes ahead.”
Cooper continued, “The project is undergoing environmental studies at this time. As with any large development, such studies take time. We are committed to ensuring that the project complies with all necessary environmental regulations.”
Gibson also voiced frustrations over the lack of banking services on the island, highlighting the difficulties local businesses face due to limited banking options.
“My constituents are angry about the lack of banking facilities on Long Island. It’s disgraceful that a major island in the Bahamas remains unbanked,” Gibson said. “Scotia Bank’s ATM was out of order for weeks, and business owners couldn’t make deposits. This is unacceptable.”
Gibson called on the government to facilitate the Bank of the Bahamas, in which the government holds a majority stake, to establish a branch on Long Island. He also urged the Teachers Credit Union to expand its reach to the island.
“We need action. Long Island deserves better banking services, and I am calling for the government to make it happen,” he said. “By having the Bank of the Bahamas come to Long Island, which the government is the main shareholder in, we can provide services to my people. Long Island is a major island that remains pretty much unbanked, and it’s disgraceful. So, I call upon Scotia Bank, who have an ATM there—if you have an ATM, service it. I also call upon the Bank of the Bahamas to come to Long Island. We urgently need you in Long Island. I call upon the Teachers Credit Union—come to Long Island. We urgently need you in Long Island.”
Gibson further emphasized, “And I call upon the government to put mechanisms and means in place so that these financial entities, especially those where the government has majority shareholding, would be pushed to come to islands. We cannot have entire islands, major islands, being unbanked.”
