The Bahamas Striping Group of Companies has to date secured $200 million from local, regional, and international capital markets, as well as private lenders, to spearhead crucial infrastructure projects, ushering in new business opportunities and employment.
BSGC has been awarded the Best Business of The Year award for 2023 by the Jones Communications Network (JCN). Founders Atario Mitchell and Dominique Mitchell launched the company in 2010 after being awarded a 5,000 dollar government grant.
“We started with a government contract to provide road markings for traffic safety on New Providence and some of the Family Islands,” explained BSGC president, Atario Mitchell. “We proved ourselves professional on all requisite job specs and business levels, and the government was able to look favorably on our bids for further listed infrastructure projects.”
With a successful project under their belt and an expanding fruitful government relationship, BGSC sought private financing to expand its business model. Expansion came with the forming of a private-public partnership (PPP) with Sygnus Capital Limited of Jamaica, which would provide up-front capital to finance BSGC’s government projects to be repaid by the government over a two to five-year period.
To date, BGSC has managed to access $200 million from local, regional, and international capital markets and private lenders to fund ever-increasing crucial infrastructural projects in The Bahamas, bringing new business opportunities, employment, and a buoyant financial outlook for the islands where BGSC contractual work is executed.
The PPP projects to date with Sygnus include the $9 million rebuild of the Eight-Mile Rock West End government complex and $25 million for the 45-mile Exuma highway improvement project to include repair to seawalls and rain and flood drainage wells, to be completed this year.
“Currently, we are focused on the new PPP infrastructure project starting in February in support of the Central and South Eleuthera water main and 76 miles of settlement-serving roads that connect to the remaining 90 miles. Also, work continues on the Nassau Village Community Centre in New Providence, which is up and running but still a work in progress,” said Dominique Sturrup. He said that on each project, where feasible, we insist that most of the workers hired live in the area.
Company president Atario Mitchell said that their company mission is to build a better Bahamas through humanitarian-based work ethic and discipline. “Vital to the success of each project and underlining our business objectives is to outsource the work to local area companies.
“Everything we do is with community betterment in mind and what better way than job creation and skills training opportunities? For instance, we believe that jobs for the younger generation may well help reduce the crime rate.
“For the major asphalt 76-mile Roads Redevelopment Project in Eleuthera, we’ve contracted with Nu View Construction and Quick Fix Construction. This provides local jobs with the local firms and ensures millions of dollars stay in Eleuthera. This is true for the Nassau Village Community Centre where we’ve contracted with 17 local businesses.”
This inclusive community initiative, common to all BSCG projects, was commended by a government minister in June 2023 at the Eleuthera Road announcement.
Senior VP Dominique Sturrup said that last year they invited and hosted the Sygnus Capital Limited president and took him to Exuma. “We felt it important he sees where his $25 million is going. I wanted him to know, believe, and see that 100 percent of his funding goes to the project. He sees for himself the road project, the 47 employees, the community that the completed road will serve, and that will help boost prosperity and quality of life.”
Sturrup said the visit had created more credibility for BSCG as now local financial companies were coming forward with business inquiries. “This is how it should be because local investments directly benefit our economy here.”
Sturrup added that the PPP legal process is rigorous, and they abide by it to the letter.
“We have project managers, and detailed legal contracts with penalties that every subcontractor signs, which include time limits and project milestones. The project goal is to get it done on time and to budget. So, you don’t want to see change orders. We do strict due diligence on the contractors. They have a project manager on site, as do we, to ensure everything goes according to the contract. PPPs are all about time and cost. Discipline and supervision are needed, can’t take your eye off the ball.”