By
Rebecca Gibson |
MSC Cruises is officially break ground for its new Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas on 6 October 2016.
MSC signed a 100-year lease agreement to occupy and develop the island with Perry Christie, Prime Minister of the Bahamas in December 2015 and has been working with the Bahamian Government and ecologists to develop the US$200 million cay, a onetime sand extraction station.
Initially, MSC planned to break ground on the development in March 2016 and open it to guests in December 2017, however work will now start on 6 October in the presence of Prime Minister Christie. The island will then open in October 2018.
MSC Seaside and MSC Divina, which were scheduled to call at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve between December 2017 and October 2018, will call at Nassau, Bahamas instead.
“As we set out to finalise construction plans for this one-of-a-kind destination, we realised that to ensure the level of quality and attention to details in both infrastructure and services that our guests have rightfully come to expect from MSC Cruises, it was only appropriate to allot a longer timeframe,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises. “In fact, while working on the final project, it was hard not want to further enrich this unique beach destination with new and additional unique services for our guests. This naturally called for more time than originally planned. At the same time, today I am also pleased to announce that works on the island have already started in earnest, as originally planned.”
Billed as the biggest island development by any cruise company in the Caribbean, the 95-acre island will be located 32km south of Bimini and 104.5km east of Miami in Florida. It will reflect the culture and natural landscape of the Bahamas by offering indigenous Caribbean plants and trees; a traditional Bahamian village; restaurants and bars offering local specialities; shops; and an arrival centre with island-themed music gazebo.
Other highlights will include a 2,000-seat amphitheatre; watersports facilities; bicycle rentals and beach games; a family beach with a children’s restaurant and play areas; a lagoon; a zip wire crossing the island; walking and running paths; and a pavilion for hosting weddings and other celebrations. MSC Yacht Club guests will also have exclusive access to a spa and wellness sanctuary with private bungalows and massage huts on the north-west corner of the island.