NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A promised $200m development in South Eleuthera is showing signs of progress even if the project may not be moving fast enough for Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, businessmen Sir Franklyn Wilson said yesterday.
Davis suggested this week that he is not satisfied with the progress of the project. His comment came six months after a Heads of Agreement signing event for the redevelopment of the Cotton Bay club.
Davis told reporters that during a meeting with Colombian president Ivan Duque Marquez last week, he expressed disappointment over the 20-plus year failure of billionaire Luis Carlos Sarmiento to fulfill his promise to redevelop the Cotton Bay club.
He said the Colombian president pledged to visit The Bahamas next month and bring the billionaire with him to get the development started.
The redevelopment of Cotton Bay has been in the works for years, spanning multiple administrations and several Heads of Agreement announcements.
In December, an agreement was signed solidifying Cotton bay Holdings Limited’s partnership with the Ritz Carlton Reserve brand to redevelop the property.
Sir Franklyn, who heads the adjacent Jack’s Bay development, suggested yesterday that work may be ongoing behind the scenes.
“The prime minister expressed his personal view and he’s the prime minister and obviously he can do that,” he said.
“We can say that our development is adjacent to the one being done by Sarmiento and we are satisfied that he is you know making progress, he’s doing things. I can understand why the prime minister would want it to go faster, that’s his role as prime minister of the country, he wants to see things happen fast but unfortunately the development process is what it is.
Asked what progress has been made to date, Wilson said: “When you’re doing projects of this type, the fact of the matter is a ton of effort has to go into studies and planning. When you’re building a golf course there is a lot of research to be done.
“These things are not that simple and straightforward. You may not see all that’s happening, it’s not that visible. It’s just a lot and so I could understand the prime minister wanting to see more but from our perspective as developers, you know, our sense is things are happening.
Wilson believes the prime minister’s comments are unlikely to sway Sarmiento from the development.
“I don’t know, my sense is, sophisticated world-class businessmen, I don’t think they allow things like this to affect their businesses. I would be surprised,” he said.
Asked what the government could do to help push the development forward, Wilson reiterated his view that the problems besetting the development of South Eleuthera began years ago.
“The problem of South Eleuthera was decades in the making. I repeat that. The prime minister who triggered that knows who he is. This ain’t yesterday’s story and this ain’t today’s story. This was years in the making and it shows the important of all our governments making sure at all times to do what they can to really encourage development. The plight in South Eleuthera of recent vintage, that’s the point I want to emphasize,” he said.
In December, Wilson criticized former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham’s policies in the 1990s, blaming them for the lack of development of Cotton Bay.”
The Ingraham administration had rejected Sarmiento’s application to buy substantial land from the Franklyn Wilson Group.
Explaining the decision, Ingraham said in December: “At all times, Dr Sarmiento…was fully aware and accepted that the government that I led would not approve further purchases of large acreage of land in South Eleuthera by him until and unless he progressed the agreed development.”
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