Dear Editor,

A recent editorial in The Freeport News suggested that Freeport has enjoyed 'phenomenal' growth over the past several decades – and certainly when Hutchison arrived, the harbour and the hospitality industry received a boost – but how does this compare with Freeport's early years?

Everything is relative, of course, but I wonder if 'phenomenal' is the right word for the development of the last few decades? For instance, let us compare the recent development to the first two decades of the Freeport venture. From 1955 to 1975, an interlude of a mere 20 years, Freeport grew out of a virgin pine forest to become the undisputed second city of The Bahamas.

A check list of the milestones of these early years is illuminating:

* A major deepwater harbour the most commodious in The Bahamas was constructed by Daniel K. Ludwig.

* A cement plant was built at the harbour owned by the giant United States Steel Corporation.

* The Bunkering Terminal was built and was at the time the largest on the eastern seaboard.

* The SS Imperial Bahama docked at the harbour and offered 500 rooms to visitors as a stop gap while permanent hotels were being constructed.

* The Lucayan Beach Hotel, Lucayan Marina and Monte Carlo Casino were opened.

* The Lucayan Country Club and Lucayan Towers were constructed.

* Understanding that transportation to the island was of critical importance to the island Wallace Groves purchased two Viscount aircraft to fly shuttle flights to and from Miami.

* Syntex, a major pharmaceutical company, located in Freeport.

* Numerous retail and service industries set up businesses in Freeport most of which are still operating today.

* The BORCO refinery came on stream.

* James Rand of the Rand Corporation built the first clinic (later expanded to become the Grand Bahama Hospital)

* Clinics and schools (public and private) were built and a low cost housing subdivision was constructed (Hawksbill) under the terms of an agreement with the Government.

* Churchill Square was opened in the Central Area where numerous shops and offices located (though unhappily not much has happened since to enhance the function and appearance of downtown).

* Casa Bahamas was constructed and was for a short while the tallest building in The Bahamas.

* The Bahamia subdivisions and two golf courses were developed by Daniel K. Ludwig. The Xanadu Hotel was constructed and occupied for a time by billionaire Howard Hughes.

* Freeport become a major cruise ship destination.

* The Kings Inn and Towers (now part of the Driftwood Group) was built providing Freeport with 1,000+ rooms.

* El Casino was constructed (at the time hailed as the largest casino in the Western Hemisphere).

* The International Bazaar and Arcade was opened and when built was considered the premier example of its kind in the world.

* The Port Authority joined forces with U.S. Freight Corporation and built an ocean-going ferry in Germany – the MV Freeport – to carry passengers and RO-RO freight between Freeport and Miami on a daily basis.

* Kemmons Wilson the founder of the Holiday Inn chain was invited to Freeport by Wallace Groves and built a Holiday Inn on the 'Lucayan Strip.'

* Two other large hotels, the Oceanus North and South were constructed.

* Two major U.S. supermarkets located in Freeport

* The foundations were laid for the best power, water and telephone systems in The Bahamas.

* A German steel rolling mill commenced fabrication in the harbour area.

* The Grand Lucayan Waterway was dredged (except for a small section at the northern end) and in addition many fully serviced subdivisions in the Lucaya area were marketed.

* Land sales in Lucaya were phenomenal (in 1971 they amounted to $32 million or around $100 million in today's money).

* The concept for Port Lucaya was developed (originally code-named Bourbon Street)

* By 1975 tourism to the island (including cruise ship passengers and overnight stays) was close to the million mark.

* A major landscaping programme in Lucaya and Freeport was undertaken.

* The Garden of the Grooves was opened to the public (free of charge)

* Bahama Reef golf-course was opened and Shannon golf-course was dedicated with Ministers of the Irish government in attendance.

* The early airport terminal and runway were extended to take care of burgeoning international traffic (Freeport at this time was connected with direct flights to London, Jamaica, Mexi-co, Bermuda, Montreal, Toronto and, of course, many U.S. cities.

And during the first few years after the change to majority rule government, Freeport continued to prosper. However, a lack of trust was developing. After Prime Minister Pindling gave his 'bend or break' speech, the Port Authority, anticipating a government take-over, transferred much of its land into a private company, 'Freeport Commercial and Industrial Ltd.'

The Port also started looking for investment opportunities overseas. Projects were developed in California and the Canary Islands and land was purchased in Central Florida. The Development Company had already been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and soon afterwards the Port Authority merged with Benguet, a gold mining concern listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Freeport was receiving so much bad press at this time because of the growing antagonism between the government, GBPA and its licencees that it was doubted that foreigners would take the risk to invest in the Freeport venture. This provided an opening for long-time resident Sir Jack Hayway, assisted by lawyer Edward St. George, to make an offer to Groves. At first it can be guessed that Groves did not take the offer seriously. But framed as a leveraged buy-out, Hayward and St. George were able to raise the needed equity based on the value inherent in the Port Area land.

The next two decades saw much internal migration to Freeport, but apart from Port Lucaya and the Regent Centre (both promoted by developer Abe Gold), there was little real investment from abroad. This was a period when The Bahamas Government discouraged foreign investment in land, the world was in recession and the United States economy was suffering from stagflation.

Then in the early 1990s Hutchison appeared on the scene and started to turn the tide. But, even so their presence, though very welcome, has been less than 'phenomenal.' The adjective 'phenomenal' should perhaps be reserved for the early years.

Sincerely,

A Freeporter