Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Nassau Cruise Port is responding to numbers associated with the Port’s agreement with the government revealed in the House of Assembly by the Minister of Labour and Immigration, the Hon. Keith Bell. The Minister called into question the revenue that the government will receive from the Port based on the agreement negotiated under the former Minnis administration.

Mike Maura Jr. said, “the Minister was instrumental from an immigration perspective in getting our tourism product back on the water and so I expressed my gratitude to him. Following that he very swiftly pledged his continued support and the support of his ministry. He mentioned that we must have a strong partnership between Nassau Cruise Port and the government of The Bahamas because at the end of the day our cruise tourism product is helping to feed our country and our economy. “

Maura went on to explain the projected numbers of the Port for 2024. “Our confirmed bookings with the cruise lines for 2024 are around 4.6. So the numbers are from an investor perspective. Those passenger numbers are what drive the profits of the company which fuel the dividends going to investors,” he said.

The Port Director also explained the funding structure for the project. Maura said, “the Bahamian people through their investments really were the ones to kick started this project. Then from there over the remaining eighteen months following May of 2020, we raised another $110 million on the US capital markets, that debt we still have. And then you would have had Global Port Holding which would have put in equity of $25 million and then you would have had over 3,000 Bahamian investors that came in via the Bahamas Investment Fund for $25 million. So the project would have today $50 million in equity and then the rest in debt.”

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