$85.3 mil. in govt revenue from cruise port next year
The government of The Bahamas is projected to rake in revenue of $85.3 million next year as a result of the redeveloped Nassau Cruise Port Ltd. (NCP), up from $72.3 million in revenue in 2019, according to numbers released yesterday by NCP.
2023-06-15 17:54:44 - VI News Staff
The NCP release came on the same day that a Cabinet minister claimed the Bahamian people are being robbed as a result of the deal the Minnis administration entered into for a public-private partnership arrangement for the new, state-of-the-art $300 million port.
The $85.3 million in revenue would include $82.8 million in head tax and $2.5 million in lease payments.
Minister of Labour and Immigration Keith Bell claimed that over a five-year period – from 2023 to 2027 – the port will get $575,800,000 in revenue while the government gets a mere $18 million, which he claimed amounts to a deficit when one considers the $44 million The Bahamas government invested over a decade ago to dredge Nassau Harbour.
NCP did not reference Bell in its statement yesterday but outlined facts on the port deal and its projected impact, which directly contradict the information he provided in Parliament while contributing to the budget debate.
NCP noted that it completed the construction of the new berth six and extension of berth one in early 2022, which has materially improved the cruise port’s vessel capacity and consequently the number of passengers coming to Nassau.
In 2023, Nassau is forecasted to surpass 2019’s passenger count by approximately 300,000 passengers and in 2024 the total number of cruise passengers is estimated to climb to 4.6 million passengers.
“As we look forward, Nassau Cruise Port Ltd. forecasts from FY2024 to FY2027 are based on cruise passenger bookings for the next two years and future estimates,” NCP said.