Royal Caribbean hosted a brunch on the Symphony of the Seas ship this week where they provided an update on construction of their $165 million beach club project located on Paradise Island.

Royal Caribbean Group Bahamas President, Philip Simon spoke with reporters in the sidelines of the event. He said, “we believe we’re about 50% there. We have, obviously, the other half of the year to go for an opening in December of 2025.”

Simon also spoke about the possibility of an initial public offering being used to obtain funding in quarter three. “The shareholders agreement is currently being finalized between ourselves and government. We hope to have that completed soon. Obviously that is necessary to move forward in the process,” he said.

Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation President Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Leo Rolle said Royal Caribbean has been a good partner to the Chamber. “We found that while we take persons out of the country and they are allowed to socialize with each other there are probably twice as many deals for local businesses through those opportunities.”

Director General of Tourism, Latia Duncombe was a speaker at the lunch.