Director: BIA processed investments worth $9 bil. in three years
The Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) has processed $9 billion worth of investments over the course of three years, according to Phylicia Hanna-Woods, director of investments in the BIA.
“I’m pleased to report over the course of three years for the family of islands, the BIA has processed $9 billion worth of investments, capital investments in our country, and from those $9 billion worth of projects, we have projected that in excess of 15,000 jobs will be created for Bahamians,” said Hanna-Woods during the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly press briefing.
“And when I talk about jobs, I’m not just talking about construction jobs, but permanent jobs that allow for the growth and development of the Bahamian people.”
Hanna-Woods added that the BIA, since September 2021, has processed $3.13 billion worth of certificates of registration, and $4.08 billion worth of value for permit applications. Those “applications” are for various pieces of real estate foreign investors may be acquiring. They must come to the BIA beforehand with a certificate of registration, and an International Land Holding Act permit, Hanna-Woods noted.
She continued: “Also out of those – the $9 billion worth of capital investments that has been processed to date by the Bahamas Investment Authority – will come a number of entrepreneurial opportunities.”
Pointing to the last several heads of agreement signings by the government, Hanna-Woods also noted: “At the forefront of each of those developments is opportunities for Bahamians.”
There will also be an increased focus on monitoring and evaluating the $9 billion worth of projects throughout the Family Islands in an attempt, Woods-Hanna said, to “track projects and assist developers with navigating through the government system”.
The BIA will also match Bahamian entrepreneurs with foreign investors, as well as identify market needs with developers, and match that with the local capacity in the country.
Hanna-Woods said any investor interested in taking advantage of the BIA’s system of delivering on project expectations, can come to see her and her team, so she can assist them with understanding the Hotel Encouragement Act, or assisst them with finding suitable local partners looking for entrepreneurial opportunities.
She added: “There are a number of different job opportunities that will be available in the operational phase of different developments. Of course, tourism continues to be the main industry that we see an inflow of foreign direct investments. Most of those jobs would be in the tourism-related sectors at various levels, we try to manage the operational jobs and maximize on the opportunities that are available for Bahamians through what we call a labor and immigration protocol.
“What that does is the BIA would work with developers to understand in their minds what are the market needs, and what they think are not jobs or does not have the local capacity. And we work with the Ministry of Labor to fine-tune that listing, to make sure that Bahamians have more operational jobs.”