Bahamas News
BAHAMAS: LOI Signed for Purchase of the Grand Lucayan Resort
#Freeport, GB, March 29, 2019 – Bahamas – “We have done what we said we would do – in the face of much criticism the Government of The Bahamas purchased the Grand Lucayan Resort for $65 million dollars and we said that we would hold it for the shortest period of time and sell it for $65 million dollars – and we have done exactly that.”
Those were the sentiments of Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar, during an official press conference on Wednesday, March 27, 2019 in the Office of the Prime Minister, as a part of the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the purchase of the Grand Lucayan resort.
On hand for the signing of the LOI and the major announcement were Tourism Minister D’Aguilar; Minister of State for Grand Bahama, Senator Kwasi Thompson; Chairman of Lucayan Renewal Holdings Limited, Michael Scott; President of the Senate, Katherine Forbes-Smith; Vice-President of Government Relations/Americas for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Russell Benford; and Chief Executive Officer of ITM, Mauricio Hamui.
The LOI was signed between Lucayan Renewal Holdings and ITM/Royal Caribbean joint venture. The deal is expected to transform the Grand Lucayan resort and its surrounding areas, as well as develop the harbor in Freeport into a destination product using water-based adventure theme parks. Both ITM and Royal Caribbean have worked on successful projects in the past.
“I am pleased to announce to the people of Grand Bahama and to the entire Bahamas that the much-anticipated sale of the 217-acre Grand Lucayan resort has finally been agreed upon,” added Minister D’Aguilar.
“The development that will roll out in Grand Bahama over the next 24-36 months will go far in restoring the island’s economy to its former glory days.”
Minister of State for Grand Bahama, Senator Kwasi Thompson noted that the signing of the LOI confirms the government’s agreement to enter into exclusive negotiations with Royal Caribbean International and the ITM Group for the purchase of the Grand Lucayan resort and the redevelopment of Freeport Harbor into a cruise port of choice.
“The $195 million investment earmarked for the first phase of the project over a twenty-four month period will include the purchase price of $65 million and the creation of approximately 2,000 jobs,” said Minister Thompson.
“Discussions leading to a Heads of Agreement, subject to the approval of the National Economic Council, will begin immediately on matters related to Bahamian employment requirements and Bahamian participation in specific areas.
“However, it is anticipated that Bahamians will have significant ownership participation in restaurants, retail stores, transportation and water sports.”
Minister Thompson noted that the joint venture project between RCI/ITM will not only combine the redevelopment of Freeport Harbor as a cruise port of choice, but will also transform the Grand Lucayan resort into a theme park, featuring water-based family entertainment, with dining, gaming and entertainment options and five-star hotel accommodations.
He noted that significant demand for both airlift and sealift to the destination is being created, including the unleashing of much-needed economic opportunities.
“The redevelopment of Freeport Harbor is anticipated to include significant increase in cruise ship arrivals, bringing an additional approximately two million passengers annually, with the addition of multiple cruise lines calling on Grand Bahama,” added Minister Thompson.
Since placing the Grand Lucayan on the market, there were over 62 expressions of interest from local and global firms. By February 14 of this year, eleven letters of offer were received and evaluated by the Board of the Lucayan Renewal Holdings Ltd.
According to Minister Thompson, on Friday, March 22, the Board, in carrying out its predetermined exit strategy, unanimously approved a resolution to recommend to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, the sale of the Grand Lucayan to RCL/ITM.
The Minister noted that when considering all of the bids for the resort, one of the major components that went into their final decision was finding the company or entity that would create a unique destination for Grand Bahama. “For us, it was more than just about trying to sell the hotel,” added Minister Thompson. “We knew we needed to do more, and creating a unique destination was at the forefront. The joint venture with Royal Caribbean and ITM fit that bill.”
Russell Benford, vice-president of Government Relations/Americas for Royal Caribbean said that coming to The Bahamas seemed like a perfect fit, considering the fact that the company was created with the Caribbean as its major destination. “This is an incredible project and I want to thank the Bahamian Government for giving us this opportunity in Grand Bahama,” said Benford. “We are honored to have been chosen from some really great people and companies around the world for this project.
“We understand what Grand Lucayan means to the Government of The Bahamas and to the people of Grand Bahama and so you have our commitment that we will do this project right and we will do right by the government and the people of The Bahamas.
“We build spectacular world class products and we will bring that same excellence and dedication here to this project in Grand Bahama.”
By Andrew Coakley
Release: BIS
Photo Captions:
Header: Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar (seated third left), along with Minister of State for Grand Bahama, Senator Kwasi Thompson (seated second left), was joined by Michael Scott (seated centre), chairman of Lucayan Renewal Holdings Ltd.; Russell Benford (seated, third right), vice-president of Government Relations/Americas for Royal Caribbean; Mauricio Hamui (seated second right), chief executive officer of ITM, along with Board Members of Lucayan Renewal Holdings (standing) for LOI signing for the purchase of the Grand Lucayan resort, in the Office of the Prime Minister on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
1st Insert: Minister of State for Grand Bahama, Senator the Hon. Kwasi Thompson, speaking during a press conference and official signing of Letter of Intent for the Purchase of the Grand Lucayan on Wednesday, March 27, 2019. Looking on is President of the Senate, the Hon. Katherine Forbes-Smith.
2nd Insert: Mr. Russell Benford (centre), vice-president of Government Relations/Americas for Royal Caribbean, says the company is excited about the project in Grand Bahama and promised to bring excellence and dedication to the restoration and redevelopment of the Grand Lucayan resort, as well as redevelopment of the Cruise Port in Freeport. At right is Mr. Mauricio Hamui, chief executive officer, ITM, and at left is Mr. Michael Scott, chairman of Lucayan Renewal Holdings Limited.
BIS Photos/Lisa Davis
PM: Project delivers on promise and invests in youth, sports and national development
GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Calling it the fulfillment of a major commitment to the island, Prime Minister Philip Davis led the official groundbreaking for the Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre, a facility the government says will transform sports development and create new opportunities for young athletes.
Speaking at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on February 12, the Prime Minister said the project represents more than bricks and mortar
— it is an investment in people, national pride and long-term economic activity. The planned complex will feature a modern 50-metre competition pool, designed to meet international standards for training and regional and global swim meets. Davis said the facility will give Bahamian swimmers a home capable of producing world-class performance while also providing a space for community recreation, learn-to-swim programmes and water safety training.
He noted that Grand Bahama has long produced outstanding athletes despite limited infrastructure and said the new centre is intended to correct that imbalance, positioning the island as a hub for aquatic sports and sports tourism.
The Prime Minister also linked the development to the broader national recovery and revitalisation of Grand Bahama, describing the project as part of a strategy to expand opportunities for young people, create jobs during construction and stimulate activity for small businesses once operational.
The Aquatic Centre, he said, stands as proof that promises made to Grand Bahama are being delivered.
The project is expected to support athlete development, attract competitions, and provide a safe, modern environment for residents to access swimming and water-based programmes for generations to come.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.
The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In
its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.
The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.
Bahamians have seen this moment before.
In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.
Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.
It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.
The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau,
Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.
This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.
Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.
And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.
It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
A hardline strategy that reduced murders, gunfire, and collateral deaths
The Bahamas, February 8, 2026 – What happens when police stop routinely granting bail to high-risk suspects and aggressively execute outstanding warrants? In The Bahamas, the answer in 2025 was fewer murders, fewer gunshots, and safer communities.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested 4,337 individuals on outstanding warrants last year, ensuring suspects were brought directly before the courts instead of being released back onto the streets. At the same time, police significantly curtailed the use of police bail for high-risk and repeat offenders, particularly those already entangled in violent disputes.
Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles said the shift was informed by hard lessons from previous years. Intelligence reviews showed that
many homicide victims were not random targets, but men already wanted by law enforcement and — critically — by other criminals. When released on bail, those individuals often became targets themselves, triggering retaliatory shootings that spilled into neighbourhoods, roadways and public spaces.
By keeping high-risk suspects in custody pending court appearances, police say they disrupted that cycle — removing both potential offenders and potential victims from the streets.
The impact was stark. Murders declined by 31 percent in 2025, falling from 120 in 2024 to 83, the largest percentage decrease in homicides since national tracking began in 1963 and the lowest murder count in nearly two decades.
Police leaders say the strategy also reduced the collateral damage that had increasingly alarmed communities. Innocent residents had been caught in “sprays of gunfire” as targeted attacks unfolded in residential areas, at traffic stops, and in public settings.
Gun-violence indicators reflected the change. Gunshot reports fell by 35 percent, while incidents detected by ShotSpotter technology declined by 29 percent, confirming that fewer shots were being fired across the country.
“Gunshots ringing out and cutting through our peaceful paradise were down remarkably,” Commissioner Knowles said, attributing the improvement to decisive enforcement, tighter bail practices, and sustained pressure on offenders.
Police also intensified enforcement against breach of bail conditions, charging and detaining more suspects than in any previous reporting period. Officers say the approach removed the opportunity for repeat offending while matters were before the courts.
Police leadership said the results go beyond statistics. By limiting bail for high-risk suspects and executing warrants at scale, the strategy saved lives, protected bystanders, and restored confidence in public safety.
In 2025, fewer people were hunted, fewer bullets were fired, and fewer families were left grieving — a shift police say was no accident, but the result of deliberate, hardline choices.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
