Freeport, Bahamas

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The Grand Bahamas Shipyard makes Freeport an important location on the eastern seaboard for vessel maintenance, with its facilities capable of handling some of the largest vessels in the world

Map of Bahamas

Freeport is a city and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama, located approximately 100 mi (160 km) east-northeast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and gives its name to a district of the Bahamas. Freeport proper has 26,910 people.

In 1955, Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier with lumber interests on the island, was granted 50,000 acres (200 km²) of swamp and scrubland by the Bahamian government. On this was built the city of Freeport, which has grown to be the second most populous city in The Bahamas (26,910 in 2000) after the capital, Nassau.

Wallace Groves, Founder of Freeport

The Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) operates the free trade zone, under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement signed in August of 1955 whereby the Bahamian Government agreed that businesses in the Freeport area will pay no taxes before 2054. The area of the land grants has been increased to 138,000 acres (558 km²).

Freeport Harbour is accessible by even the largest vessels, and has a cruise terminal, a container port, and both a private yacht and ship maintenance facility. Grand Bahama International Airport (IATA airport code: FPO, ICAO airport code: MYGF) handles nearly 50,000 flights each year.

Tourism complements trade as a revenue earner in Freeport, with over a million visitors each year. Much of the tourist industry is displaced to the seaside suburb of Lucaya, owing its name (but little else) to the pre-Columbian Lucayan inhabitants of the island. The city is often promoted as "Freeport/Lucaya." Most hotels on the island are located along the southern Atlantic Ocean shore. Primary shopping venues for tourists include the (mostly closed since a hurricane and labor issues closed the nearby hotel) International Bazaar near downtown Freeport and the Port Lucaya Market Place in Lucaya.