Albany: Start or pull the project -
By INDERIA SAUNDERS, Guardian Staff Reporter :
Nassau, Bahamas -


Some quick decisions may have to be made after Albany Beach and Golf Resort officials recently announced that the government needed to immediately issue the final permits for the start of construction or the entire project will be pulled out of The Bahamas.

If this happens, the promised 1,000-plus jobs for Bahamians as well as the jobs to be created through entrepreneurial and other spin-off activities, will never materialize.

Currently, the future of the project, and by extension the jobs of many Bahamians, lie in the offices of the Ministry of Works as Albany developers wait on subdivision approvals in order to start working.

"The challenge we have is that if we are not under construction shortly, we will have to pull the project shortly," managing partner of Albany, Christopher Anand said in an interview with The Nassau Guardian on Wednesday night. "I'm hopeful that it will be a happy win-win resolution for everybody."

The developers first hit a snag in their plans nearly two weeks ago when hundreds of Bahamians expressed unfavorable views about the project in a town meeting.

Two major issues were a road diversion to make way for Albany and the proposed new South Ocean development, and reduced beach access posed by two marinas, which would mean one would no longer be able to walk from Adelaide Beach to Jaws Beach along the shoreline.

After mixed opinions were voiced in the meeting between the community and the developers, pressure was put on the government to make a decision about whether they would allow the two proposed plans to go ahead. Since then, some amendments to the signed-but-not-tabled Heads of Agreement have been made.

"I feel like not all citizens agreed with everything that the previous administration had suggested we support. An example is a $2.5 million renovation at Caves Point Beach, so what we decided to do is [what] the current administration has recommended: That concerned citizens form a board and they determine where best to spend that $2.5 million," Anand said.

But even after discussions and amendments were made, Anand said they are still waiting to get started hiring people. Although, he explained, it was understood that the general public had some grave concerns which may have slowed production, the investors were also having some concerns about the timeliness of the $1.4 billion project.

"The minister [of Works, Earl Deveaux] has said that the government is not trying to re-negotiate any contracts [and] hopefully we'll get through these permitting requirements very quickly and hopefully we'll be under construction," Anand said.

The Tavistock Group's Albany project, signed in November 2006, encompasses 565 acres of land and could see the development of 350 estate-type homes — priced between $2 million and $10 million — and includes a club house, an Ernie Els-designed championship golf course and a 100-room condominium complex. In addition, 370 acres of land will be made available for the government to build low-cost homes for Bahamians.