By KEVA LIGHTBOURNE, Guardian Senior Reporter, kdl@nasguard.com

The government has thrown its full support behind the controversial Baker's Bay development.

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who traveled to Guana Gay, Abaco, on Saturday to tour the project, said the government is satisfied that the development is in the public interest of The Bahamas.

Ingraham, who was accompanied by Land and Local Government Minister Sidney Collie, opined that the development is both "environmentally acceptable and sustainable" and will provide a strong financial injection into the island's economy.

Already, the developers have pumped $160 million into the project, which will be worth billions upon its completion.

"I think that it is fair and accurate to say that this development exceeds the environmental standards established by The Bahamas, and we are very proud of how they have respected the environment and gone about taking steps to mitigate any damage whatsoever to the environment in their development," Ingraham said.

He maintained that this fact alone should satisfy the small group of residents who form the Save Guana Cay Reef Association (SGCRA), which is against the project. The residents, led by attorney Fred Smith, believe the development will destroy their way of life, by killing the lush coral reef offshore and therefore, the breeding grounds for future generations of fish and other marine animals.

SGCRA is also upset with the central government for leasing more than 100 acres of crown and treasury land, without the approval of the local government, to help the Discovery Land Company, developers of the project, build Baker's Bay Golf and Ocean Club.

But, Ingraham said the Free National Movement administration gave consideration to their land argument when it came to office in May and struck an agreement with the Baker's Bay developers to return a significant portion to the government.

"We did not think that they ought to have access to as much of the government's acreage as has been previously agreed. They undertook to return substantial portions of what had already been agreed to be transferred to them, with the net resulting effect being that of the 40 or so acres of Treasury land, they are going to end up with about eight acres after five or six years on a lease basis," Ingraham explained.

Treasury land is land which originally belonged to the government, but was granted to a company which subsequently went out of business, and thus the land reverting back to government.

With respect to the Crown Land, Ingraham said that over 60 acres is in a reserve that will be managed by the project's developers for the benefit of the public, but it will still be owned by the government.

"I think that from the point-of-view of public land, there is no argument of any consequence about alienating that land. These developers brought 450 acres of private land to do their development on. The public land that we have made available to them for lease will be used for a water treatment facility, employee housing and other essential facilities that could also benefit the community of Guana Cay, in addition to the development," Ingraham reported.

The project encompasses 585 acres of land.

Touching briefly on SGCRA's claim that approvals were improperly granted for the development by the central government, Ingraham pointed out that this issue is presently before the court. He noted that "The government of The Bahamas is satisfied the development of Baker's Bay is in the public interest of The Bahamas, and we should do whatever is necessary to ensure that we effectively support, facilitate and accommodate the development."

In terms of wages, the development is paying out $1 million per month, and by year's end the government would have gained $25 million in revenue in taxes. In addition, the development is purchasing a plethora of its goods and services from Bahamian suppliers and contractors.

So far some 90 of its 250 lots have been sold. The lots are being sold for prices ranging between $2.5 million to $10 million.

According to Baker's Bay chief operating officer Mike Meldman, one of the development's greatest assets is its people. Baker's Bay employs 150 Bahamians, and another 150 are working with the construction companies - for a combined 300 -strong workforce.

Baker's Bay will consist of a luxury villa style hotel, homes, a retail center, restaurants, and commercial amenities. Also included is a 185-marina slip that will cost $65 million, of which $40 million has already been spent. Meldman said the 18-hole golf course is 16 months away from being completed.

"A year from now what you will see when you are here is a marina villa, the marina will be done, the golf course opened, and hopefully by then we will have 30-40 homes under construction. About 20 houses over the next 90 days will start being built. We are committed and we are happy to be here."