Bright Future: The Story of Freeport (1965)

periodic meetings of freeport's business Executives bring together men of many backgrounds and skills they represent the businesses already established in Freeport and they are helping to shape the destiny of the most dynamic development in the Western Hemisphere today they have seen the dream become a reality and from this reality the promise of a bright future [Music] each of these men has his own interpretation of the Freeport climate this is Mr William mcginness president of Greater free Port Industries who explains it this way our interest are well Diversified with several millions of dollars invested in many Enterprises with such a large Financial stake involved it was an important important consideration that the political climate of the country be stable I like the stability of a license agreement too a contract good for many years to come that kind of stability stems from the unique origins of free port and this is really something a businessman must be satisfied with and aware of before initiating his Venture what are these unique Origins bill mcginness is is talking about let us hear about them from the Bahamas government's Chief representative in Freeport I'm Anthony nox Johnston a government leaon officer for the Bahamas government in Freeport 10 years ago Grand Bahama was a backward out Island and to encourage its development a private company the Grand Bahama Port Authority limited was granted unusual concessions within the 214 square mile area which has come to be known as Freeport until at least 1990 there's a contractual guarantee that no personal or corporate income tax capital gains tax real estate tax or personal property tax may be assessed on the Port Authority its licenses or their employees and up to the end of 2054 no excise levies or import duties are accessible on materials or equipment used by licensed Freeport businesses although Goods imported for personal use are dyable here we have a unique opportunity for the development of business and industry on a very wide scale yes a contractual guarantee that the business climate will remain the same for many years to come one of the largest investors in Free Port is the mertile group headed by its president Mr Gordon mosold who finds the climate here Pleasant for a different reason we were early arrivals in Freeport opportunity has led us into many profitable Fields today we are particularly excited about our growing import export and transhipment operation Freeport has the ideal climate for this business and is unique situated how can freeport's unique location serve the internationally minded businessman it becomes clear from this map that Freeport is located directly on the north south shipping lanes which were established in Columbus's day and still remain the dominant current of shipping in the Western Hemisphere today it also becomes clear that its nearness to the coast of Florida gives Freeport ready access to most of the US markets so that Goods being imported or exported can easily reach their destination within 48 hours to the South lies the fast growing Caribbean area which even now boasts a market of 80 million people Central and South America with a combined population of over 200 million this Latin American Market alone will amount to at least 270 Million by 1975 making the total Market available aable to Freeport over 500 million people Freeport is truly The Hub of a vast trading area an area that is rapidly growing Mr William Adams president of hemisphere agencies limited an importer exporter with Worldwide operations depends on expanding markets as well as excellent facilities he puts it this way a magnificent Harbor and frequent shipping to us good transportation is a must Freeport Harbor is now one of the finest in the Caribbean and is constantly being expanded all types of cargo can be handled efficiently and special facilities have been provided to accommodate the new roll on rolloff equipment more than 20 of these vessels going to and from Florida ports as well as regular scheduled sailings from Europe Great Britain Canada and New York make Freeport one of the busiest Harbors in this part of the world trans shipment by air is efficiently handled by freeport's busy International Airport hourly flights to Florida's coastal cities only 35 minutes away provide exceptional convenience direct Jet flights to New York London Canada and South America give the corporate executive the convenience he demands Air Cargo facilities so essential to many types of Industry have expanded rapidly as more and more long range Jets connect Freeport with the principal cities of the [Music] world in 1960 electric power capacity was only, 1500 KW but in 1964 with the opening of hotels apartment buildings and businesses large and small the requirements jumped to 15,000 KW a new generating plant went into operation as construction goes forward at an accelerated pace plans are already underway for a much larger generating plant utilizing the newest steam turbine equipment report plans for the future by keeping a full year ahead of anticipated Demand only 6 years ago 12 hand cranked telephones made up the entire communication system in Freeport wires were strung on trees or laid across the ground and as unreliable as a system was it was welcome in what was still a near wilderness as Freeport grew it became obvious that the demand was growing faster than the system would [Music] permit a new telephone building was completed with a capacity of 5,000 lines enough to hold us for a while but not for too long since we now have over 4,000 phones in use the future calls for 10,000 lines and another exchange by 1967 the new telecommunications building which was opened in 1964 has a capacity of 75 overseas telephone calls to anywhere in the world this latest in radio equipment employing the forward scatter system brings the world next door to Freeport and is a miracle of communication compared to the one Channel radio system the only link just a few years ago now all this expansion of facilities didn't just happen it is planned expansion through a planning board that is even now working 5 to 10 years ahead our schools so important to the present mean even more to our future our Hospital staffed by some of the finest doctors in this part of the world is constantly expanding to ensure the best medical care for the people of Freeport in Freeport planning has special significance and the firm of Harland Bartholomew one of the most respected and experienced in the town planning field has been the port Authority's consultant these men have the responsibility of feeling the pulse of Freeport and planning for the future which way must the city grow to best serve the needs of its people and its industry what will be the minimum standard for hotels and apartment houses so that the planned character of Freeport will be a reality from the plan to the construction to the [Music] fact unlike some so-called is and paradises Freeport is naturally blessed with an abundant water supply enough to meet the requirements of a half a million people but part of the job of a diligent planning board is to be sure that there never will be a shortage water reservoirs have already been designed in a long range plan of Supply there is a building boom on this tropical island in the Bahamas The Nearness of supplies and the absence of customs duties keep the costs down there are sources of unskilled and semiskilled labor on Grand baham Island Mr Henry toes whose company has been involved in construction in Freeport during the past few years of growth has this to say we needed to build quickly and inexpensively especially in the early days this meant training local labor because we could not afford to import it we are more than happy with the results for key personnel and skilled workers we cannot get lockly the Hogs B Creek duct permits virtually unrestricted immigration yes Freeport is attracting businesses of all kinds one of the world's largest and most successful ships bunkering stations was established here many years ago and is serving ships from all over the world with tax-free Fuel and supplies these huge vessels tie up to Offshore Moorings to refuel through underwater pipelines a great saving in both time and money [Music] synex the internationally known drug firm is establishing a research center here and a large Plant for the manufacture and distribution of drugs to the markets of the world 1965 marked the official opening of the huge Bahama cement company in the presence of his Excellency the governor and the premier of the Bahamas there were speeches of course to commemorate the occasion Mr Roger Blau chairman of United States Steel the parent company Mr Groves founder of Freeport Mr James Jinx president of Bahamas amend company Mr Jinx told this distinguished audience some of the reasons the company is glad to be here yes we are glad to be here and for many reasons building this cement plant was a major undertaking for our company and the decision to locate it in Freeport was based on several favorable considerations the main reason we chose Freeport was of course the practically inexhaustible supply of our principal raw material Limestone every cubic yard of limestone we dredge from the harbor is being stockpiled for eventual use and when dredging operations finally are completed we have hundreds of Acres of high quality limestone on the plant side itself the other raw materials we use in our cement making process are also readily accessible thanks to the Freeport deep water Harbor and our own dock facilities Oceano barges and other bul carriers bring silica sand gypsum foxite and other materials right to our front door when we are ready to ship finished cement the same Harbor and dock facilities permit us to load a specially equipped vessel for Rapid shipment to customers throughout our marketing area accessible raw materials and markets plus enthusiastic employees are some of the reasons why we're here there are other reasons of course near the top of the list is the climate we all like the year around warm weather and the places available for enjoying it our children are pretty happy about free for too they don't have to be bundled into snow boots heavy coats and mufflers before starting for school for example from just about any angle we're glad to be here yes the Freeport climate is right for a variety of industries from cement production to tourism here is Mr Reginal NEPA of holiday NS International we put our largest unit here because we saw Dynamic growth ahead the tourist industry thrives in this kind of climate love and sunshine gives you pleasure that you never [Music] before out on a Tropic Island on a g occasion in in [Music] theight fre ports Dynamic growth healthy business climate and freedom to develop are stimulants to many types of ENT rise a unique combination of geographical location Transportation [Music] facilities living and working conditions and contractually guaranteed governmental concessions are helping these industries to prosper in Freeport here is Mr Wallace Groves the founder of Freeport the Grand Bahama Port Authority came into being with the signing of the Hawks Bill creep act the role we play as the guiding hand in freeport's Destiny lies mainly in assessing the community's needs and in finding ways and people and businesses and funds to fill those needs we are proud of what we have done here but we are far more interested in the task ahead Freeport is just getting started and the future looks very bright indeed no one can predict how high they will go but the goals for men of vision are higher than most the grand baham Port Authority invite you to share in our bright future the Free Port of tomorrow [Music]