An FNM Cabinet minister has admitted that the first Ingraham administration should not have approved the controversial Bimini Bay Resort & Casino, given its disproportionate size to the island's community and infrastructure, but said: "Hindsight is always 20/20."

Both Tommy Turnquest, former FNM leader and minister of national security, and a fellow minister told The Tribune that future large scale 'anchor resort projects' in the Family Islands needed to he reevaluated in an effort to preserve island communities.

In an interview with The Tribune, Mr Turnquest admitted that approving the initial size of the 700-acre - Bimini Bay development - on a seven mile-long island - may have been a mistake under the first FNM administration.

The Bimini Bay project. which is being spearheaded by Miami-based developer, the Capo Group. has continued to spark protests from Bahamian and international environmentalists, as well as Biminites, who were concerned about possible negative repercussions that the $75 million dollar development would have on the small island community.

Their complaints have continued, despite the Christie administration renegotiating the project's Heads of Agreement to reduce it in size. The developers, led by Cuban-American property entrepreneur Gerardo Capo, have repeatedly countered all criticism by insisting they are doing everything they can to preserve the environment.

"Bimini Bay started under the FNM. It was a development that, I think, we would readily admit that the size that we approved was not appropriate to the community on Bimini [or] the ecosystem at Bimini." said Mr Turnquest.

"Hindsight is always 20/20, and so we ought to have scaled that back in terms of the size of the development. But, again, all of that comes with experience, and unfortunately you don't always have that benefit of hindsight when you're faced with something at the beginning."

Learning from the mistakes of his party and the former PLP administratiOn, particularly when it comes to addressing the specific needs of each Family Island when it comes to investments. Mr Turnquest was optimistic that in future his party will, in government, fully evaluate these concerns.

"The former government talked about these 'anchor' projects, but what does that mean? Did they show what it means in terms of are you providing the infrastructure; are you taking care of the housing [for employees]; are you providing the other amenities to keep the cost of living down?" Mr Turnquest asked.

"And so you can look at an island like Exuma, and talk about those types of properties, and make sure the density and the size of those resorts fit into the island," he explained.

"I'm advised here that the casino at the Four Seasons Resort [in Exuma] has not taken off as originally expected, and it begs the question: 'Is a casino really necessary for the sustain-ability of a resort property in the Family Islands?'

"I don't believe it is, but again developers say they need a casino, and so those are the types of issues we need to address, rather than just having these catch phrases about 'anchor projects."

However, the $110 million Grand Isle Resort and Spa,located on Georgetown, Exuma, has been lauded by the business community as "the example to follow" in the Family Islands when it comes to business development.

At the grand unveiling of the new $5.7 million penthouse at the Grand Isle Resort and Spa over the weekend, Branville McCartney, Minister of State for Tourism and Aviation, told The Tribune that the Government must "look at what each island has to offer" and ensure that future developments on Family Islands are in sync with the needs of each community.

When asked about his Ministry's position on the `anchor resort' strategy, Mr McCartney said: "There are certain islands where large resorts will do quite well, and other islands where they won't do well.

"A huge development may not gel [over] well in Acklins, or Cat Island, because of the nature.of the community or the people. We need to really collaborate with the people of those islands, and find out from them who would be the best type of resort or project [for the island]."

Source: The Tribune