Approximately 70,000 people in Grand Bahama and Abaco will benefit from post hurricane tax waivers and incentives, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest.

Turnquest told reporters yesterday that a group from the international community will soon be in the country to calculate the exact number.

“They will be here on October 1.  So October 1 and 2, they will be flying into the affected areas to do the economic assessments and so we should have a report shortly thereafter,” he said.   

The deputy prime minister added that the order is simply awaiting his signature.

“The order is actually on my desk to sign.  We’re doing a few tweaks to it and today we’ll get a bit of clarification on a couple of points so that we make sure we have the document drafted as the prime minister has intended,” Turnquest said. 

“So hopefully if not today, certainly tomorrow or Thursday the latest I imagine, we will have that order out in full detail with the details behind it as to how people would access the various incentives that are available in that order.”  

Abaco and Grand Bahama have been deemed special economic recovery zones for the next three years.