Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon. Chester Cooper, was the keynote speaker on Thursday, April 3rd, 2025 during the first morning of the two-day Eleuthera Business Outlook (EBO) forum hosted in Rock Sound, at the Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce’s Business Hub.
“Prioritizing Inclusive, Sustainable Growth”, were the call words for the grouping of government and business stakeholders at the Outlook, discussing a wide range of topics, relevant to the Eleutheran economy, and its many facets, including entrepreneurship, tourism, aviation, public infrastructure, digital commerce, real estate, human resources, and others.
DPM Cooper, in his presentation emphasized the government’s commitment to Eleuthera’s growth through strategic investments in infrastructure, tourism, and local businesses. Despite challenges, the island, he said, is positioned for a promising future with several major developments underway. Addressing immediate concerns, he acknowledged the ongoing electricity and water issues, assuring residents and businesses that the government is actively working on solutions.
Mr. Cooper touted the success of Eleuthera’s tourism sector, reporting significant increases in visitor arrivals, noting, “In the first two months of 2025, Eleuthera reported almost 18,000 stopover visitors, a remarkable 34% increase over the same period last year.” However, he cautioned about potential impacts from global issues like the growing trade war and travel advisories, emphasizing the importance of maintaining quality experiences for tourists.
He highlighted the strength of airlift to the island with direct flights from major US hubs, and gave an update on the planned investment in the North Eleuthera Airport, informing, “The North Eleuthera Airport will have a $55 million investment in its air side and landside. We executed a loan agreement with the Saudi Fund for development. That loan has not been drawn down. The money has not been spent on anything else. The Saudi Fund for the government, however, has been slow and bureaucratic in its processes and our commitment to expedite the work. Therefore we’ve identified alternative funding in order to expedite this project. That funding is already in place. Island Airport Development Company that is building Bimini Airport with impressive works ahead of timelines are making significant progress. We’ve invited them back to the table to consider the redevelopment of North Eleuthera airport and we have signed the agreement. The money is in place… and we anticipate that works will begin shortly. We expect to have already delivered some preliminary works to ease some of the pressure at North Eleuthera Airport. We’re preparing for the construction of the state of the art passenger terminal. We expect shovels in the ground this quarter and a projected completion date in mid-2026.”
DPM Cooper, also touched on the project underway at the Governor’s Harbour Airport as well as the consideration being given to a public-private partnership for rehabilitation of the Rock Sound Airport, to facilitate foreseen growth in South Eleuthera. He also spoke about significant investments such as Disney’s Lighthouse Point and Jack’s Bay, pointing to their potential for long-term economic growth and job creation. He also commented on the ultra-luxury Ritz Carlton Reserve development, at Cotton Bay, with its construction plans beginning in April 2025, and described it as another milestone for Eleuthera.
Government initiatives to support local entrepreneurs, was another area DPM Cooper commented on, introducing the government’s “Home Sweet Home” initiative – offering grants to encourage Bahamians to get involved in the short term rental industry. He also highlighted a new capital injection into the Bahamas Development, saying that now was the time for small business to be in touch with them about projects in need of funding. He left the audience with a call to work together to build an Eleuthera that works for everyone – where Bahamians are not just standing on the sidelines of economic growth, but participating actively as real players.
Member of Parliament for Central and South Eleuthera, the Hon. Clay Sweeting, addressed the second day Harbour Island leg of the EBO forum as keynote speaker on Friday morning, April 4th – where business and community stakeholders gathered at the Valentines Resort and Marina.
He outlined a number of successfully started, near completion, and completed initiatives throughout Eleuthera, as well as the rest of the Family Islands – during his time in office to date, before announcing several additional upcoming projects under his current Ministy of Works and Family Island Affairs purview.
The Glass Window Bridge, he announced, was expected to have preliminary works started during the third quarter of 2025. He said that seven contractors had already applied to take on the project, and had visited the Glass Window Bridge to investigate the requirements for their bid tender packages. Financing for the bridge project, said Mr. Sweeting, was already secured.
He also announced that Tarpum Bay, James’ Cistern, and Spanish Wells, would all see brand new public fishing docks – with works already started in Tarpum Bay, and tenders having gone out for Spanish Wells.
The long discussed and debated renewal of the Harbour Island Dock facility, said Mr. Sweeting, which he had mentioned in his May 2024 budget speech, was finally ready to go. He announced that the refurbishment of the dock in Harbour Island was set to begin during summer of 2025. He further described, an expansion of the dock toward the west side, the addition of side walks for pedestrian traffic, a widening of the access point heading out of the docking facility, timber docks added for ferry boat drivers, as well as a ramp for freight boats coming into Harbour Island.
“This would encompass not just a refurbishment of the current dock, but basically new construction… So it’s something exciting. It’s going to be a little painful with ongoing construction and persons coming to offload freight. But we’re going to try and do it as painless as possible to ensure that Harbour Island gets what it deserves.”
While speaking about the roadworks that were ongoing on mainland Eleuthera, Minister Sweeting also added, “I would like to say that this work will continue throughout North Eleuthera. I know people think that the line is drawn in the sand, but we will ensure that Eleuthera gets the proper road network it deserves. Because the reality is that the whole of Eleuthera is on a boom. And with development you need infrastructure…”
