(BIS Photos/Andrew Miller)
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GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Philip Davis stated his vision for the island of Grand Bahama during his keynote address at the 27th Annual Grand Bahama Business Outlook at Pelican Bay Hotel on February 12, 2026.
Prime Minister Davis said he still believes that Grand Bahama can move from nostalgia to possibility where energy costs are fair and predictable, anchored by modern LNG and solar assets financed by Bahamian and international capital.
He also envisions a rebuilt airport that reconnects the island to key gateways and supports a new mix of tourism, business travel and cargo.
“The Grand Lucayan is reborn in a way that fits the market, creating jobs in hospitality, entertainment and services,” he said. “The harbour and industrial area become a hub for green and blue industries: ship repair with lower emissions, logistics that support renewable projects around the region, data services that ride on new fibre links.
“Capital markets on Nassau and Grand Bahama list funds, bonds and equities that give ordinary Bahamians a stake in all of the above.”
Prime Minister Davis told the business leaders that they should not be forced to choose between their island and their party.
“If an LNG plant is good for Grand Bahama, if a new terminal is good for Grand Bahama, if reform of the power system is good for Grand Bahama, then supporting those things does not make you anybody’s political tool,” he said.
“It makes you responsible stewards of this community. If every decision is filtered through partisan suspicion, the only people who lose are the people of Grand Bahama. Let politicians argue themselves in the political arena. Let business leaders build and partner.”
With an overview of the national backdrop, Prime Minister Davis pointed out that since the nearly $13.1 billion fall out from Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19, the economy is growing again, more Bahamians are at work and international institutions that once moved the country’s outlook down have upgraded it.
“Moody’s shifted The Bahamas from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’, citing progress on energy reform and fiscal management. That shift did not come by luck. It came from choices by government, by businesses, by workers,” he said.
“We now have proof that this country can change direction when it needs to.”
Listing the stark comparable numbers on energy consumption, fuel recovery surcharge, reconnection fee and temporary disconnection costs between Grand Bahama and the rest of the country, Prime Minister Davis explained why the Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Grand Bahama Power Company to acquire Emera’s shares.
“First, to open the door to universal electricity rates across The Bahamas, ending a long-standing disparity between Grand Bahama and the rest of the country.
“Second, to allow integrated national planning of energy investments, instead of fragmented decisions that leave one island an outlier,” he said.
“Third, to align energy policy with the needs of Bahamian households and a modern economy, instead of forcing policy to fit an old private structure.”
He noted that it is not about control but about fairness and competitiveness, adding that the Government is not promising Grand Bahama residents that their bill will be cut in half next month; it is promising a path that moves the island from structurally higher rates to a fair national framework; from a fragmented system to an integrated one and from dependence on aging diesel units to a mix of LNG, solar and modern controls.
Prime Minister Davis also gave the business community an update on the airport and Grand Lucayan project.
