The Government of The Bahamas has sold the Grand Lucayan to a partnership between Royal Caribbean International and ITM (Bahamas Port Investments Ltd.), which is expected to make a US $250 million investment between the hotel and the redevelopment of the cruise port.

The signing ceremony was held on the great lawn of the property, some 11 months following the signing of the letter of intent on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.

Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Dr. Hubert Minnis described the day as a wonderful one, as the government’s intention was never to hold on to the property, but initially purchased it to save jobs of Grand Bahamians and businesses.

“As we stated at the time, it was our intention to privatize the property as quickly as possible. We wanted to ensure that we found the right buyer who shared our vision for the renewal of Grand Bahama. Our vision was the renewal and rebirth of Grand Bahama’s tourism sector and product as an essential element in the restoration of this island’s potential.”

The Prime Minister also noted that discussions are currently ongoing to determine the best way to redevelop the Grand Bahama International Airport, which will require a major investment.

The development projected for the Grand Lucayan will bring about a total transformation of the resort. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be invested into the property to refurbish, renovate and reconstruct 500 rooms in Phase One and another 500 rooms along with 500 villas in Phase Two.

Additional features will include a new casino, a spectacular water theme park and a new shopping, restaurant and retail centre. A new cruise port will be built in the Freeport Harbour to accommodate three ships in phase one and up to seven ships in subsequent phases. Roughly 3,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created in construction as well as in employment at the hotel and cruise port.