Business View Caribbean October/November 2018

12 13 D isney Cruise Line already has an agree- ment for purchase with the current owner of the Lighthouse Point property in South Eleuthera for a nearly half a billion dollar cruise port development, according to Company President, Jeff Vahle.“We are ready to go,” said Vahle. “We have an approved project. The Walt Disney Board has approved the investment at a second island and we have a contract with the seller, so we would like to open this site in 2022 or 2023. Disney is seeking to develop the property as it looks to double the number of ships calling on ports in The Bahamas by adding three new ships in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Vahle said the company is only awaiting approval from The Bahamas In- vestment Authority to begin the project, which is expected to cost between $350 million and $400 million. Disney has said the project will focus on con- servation, where only 20 percent of the property would be developed and 120 to 150 permanent jobs would be created. Additionally, Vahle said the project will use sustainable design and building practices for the areas Disney intends to develop, and use solar power for much of its operation. OPENING LINES ST LUCIA TO IMPROVE HEALTH COVERAGE WITHWORLD BANK LOAN DISNEY PLANS NEW $400 MILLION CRUISE PORT IN THE BAHAMAS T he World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved US$20 mil- lion from the International Develop- ment Association for strengthening Saint Lucia’s public health care system by improving accessibility, efficiency, and respon- siveness of key health services. “We are pleased to partner with Saint Lucia on this high priority project that aims to im- prove health coverage for the people of Saint Lucia and advance progress towards achiev- ing universal health coverage,” said Tahseen Sayed,World Bank’s Country Director for the Caribbean. “Investing in people through better access to quality health services is essential to enable the next generations to reach their full social and economic potential.” The heath system strengthening project will roll out a package of health services, introduce financial incentives to improve service deliv- ery, as well as upgrade health infrastructure and scale up preparedness and response for public health emergencies. The project aims to ensure that at least 100,000 people on the island of 178,000 inhabitants are registered to the National Health Scheme by the end of the project. It also ensures that at least 60 percent of dia- betic and hypertensive patients over 18 years old are treated according to national proto- cols in public primary health care facilities. In addition, primary health care centers will be equipped to serve as the first point of detec- tion for selected infectious diseases.