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Freeport needs a world-class SEZ development strategy.
Now it can build one.

As an advisor to the Grand Bahama Port Authority and other clients, Dr Robert Millard has been integrally involved with virtually every comprehensive strategic planning initiative in Freeport, Grand Bahama over the past two decades. Now, he has written the definitive analysis of Freeport's potential as a world-class, globally significant special economic zone (SEZ). His book, while focused squarely on Freeport's opportunities and challenges, is a useful reference for anybody developing, regulating or operating SEZs.

The book provides the foundation for a comprehensive strategy to transform Freeport into a portfolio of specialised industry cluster SEZs (following Dubai's proven model) leveraging the deepest port on the eastern seaboard of North America, international airport, over 75,000 acres of developable land, and proximity to the massive US East Coast market. It outlines an effective solution to mitigate the impacts of hurricane storm surges and the risk of sea level rise, turning what is currently an existential challenge into a unique strategic advantage.

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The opportunity

Freeport represents one of the most significant investment opportunities in the western hemisphere. No other SEZ location matches its foundational value proposition, which rivals that of Dubai's free zones. Yet decades of regulatory dysfunction have left this potential unrealised. The time has come to change that.

85 miles

from Florida

Astride major North Atlantic trade routes.

>400 million

people

Within three hours flying time of Freeport.

Deepest seaport

south of Nova Scotia

Capable of handling world's largest container ships, with significant capacity for expansion.

75,000+

acres of developable land

With 13 miles of coastline and 144 miles of bulkheaded canals.

US$15B+

infrastructure invested

Private capital invested in the Port Area to date, including (until 1979) the largest man-made harbour in the world and an airport with an 11,000 ft runway.

2054

SEZ concessions

Customs and tax exemptions under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. No corporate, personal, or capital gains tax.

Freeport, not Shannon (Ireland), was the world's first SEZ of the modern era. Today >7,000 SEZs exist worldwide, across virtually every country. The book analyses global best practice and Freeport's most important peers.

The Book

Freeport: Why it fails as an SEZ and how to fix that

Robert F. Millard | 317 pages | ISBN 978-1-9192808-0-6
Published by Cambridge Strategy Group, 2025

This book is the definitive analysis of Freeport's potential as a world-class, globally significant special economic zone. Drawing on eighteen years of strategic engagement, including roles leading multiple strategic planning initiatives and supporting the Port Authority in disputes with the Government, it sets out a comprehensive roadmap for transforming Freeport's unrealised potential into economic reality.

The book covers:

The emergence of SEZs, from Delos in ancient times to today's "Cloud SEZs"
A detailed typology of SEZs
The unique lessons that Shenzhen, Dubai and Lagos offer Freeport
Why Freeport has failed as an SEZ, despite its exceptional foundational assets
Detailed analysis of rival regional peer SEZs across the Caribbean and the Americas
A portfolio of specialised industry cluster SEZs, following Dubai's proven model
Governance reform, dispute resolution, and multi-stakeholder alignment
A funding mechanism for storm surge protection and risk of sea level rise
Optimising benefits for Freeport's host economy and community

Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

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Two Decades of Strategic Engagement with Freeport

No other individual or consulting firm possesses Dr Millard's combination of strategy credentials and continuity of engagement with Freeport's strategic development.

Dr Robert F. Millard | PhD in Business Strategy (University of Glasgow) | MBA (Henley Business School)

Founder, Cambridge Strategy Group. Research focus: conditions consistent with success in complex institutional combinations, such as large law firms. Prior experience includes multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects, including the US$8.6 billion (in 2026 USD) Phase 1A of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in the 1990s.

2008

Flemings Strategy for Grand Bahama Island

Dr Millard led the team that produced a comprehensive strategy to develop Freeport into the most significant offshore commercial centre in the western hemisphere. He also commissioned the NERA socio-economic assessment. The strategy envisaged US$26 billion of investment, 132,000 jobs, and a population of 250,000.

2015

GBPA Strategic Plan

In response to the Prime Minister's Hawksbill Creek Review Committee, Dr Millard led the development of the Port Authority's Strategic Plan for Freeport, 2015 to 2054. This plan identified eight high-potential industry clusters for Freeport's development.

2020

REEF Initiative

REEF (Revitalisation and Expansion of the Economy of Freeport) was a strategic planning exercise that responded to Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19. The process included public consultation with over 3,000 Grand Bahama residents, whose responses overwhelmingly supported economic diversification into the sectors this work had identified. Dr Millard was integrally involved in leading the process.

2024-25

Arbitration

Dr Millard was retained by the Grand Bahama Port Authority to support its legal team in the arbitration with the Government of The Bahamas.

2026

The Book

Dr Millard published Freeport: Why it fails as an SEZ and how to fix that – a 317-page synthesis of eighteen years of strategic work and research on SEZs in several countries. It includes comparative analysis of global SEZ best practice, ten regional peers, detailed industry cluster proposals, governance reform, and an innovative infrastructure funding mechanism.

My value proposition

I wrote this book with two objectives: to build a foundation for the best strategy for Freeport's development as a world-class, globally significant SEZ, to the considerable benefit of both investors and the Bahamian people; and to secure a substantial, long-term role in that development.

I offer something that internal strategy teams and global advisory firms cannot source elsewhere: deep, place-specific knowledge of Freeport’s regulatory, political, stakeholder, and institutional landscape, grounded in two decades of continuous strategic engagement and combined with a strong theoretical understanding of SEZs and their drivers of success.

Whether for a new generation of investors in Freeport or those developing, regulating or operating SEZs elsewhere, my advisory capabilities span SEZ strategy and governance design, stakeholder management, infrastructure funding mechanisms, and the institutional memory that comes from being the only person who has helped drive every comprehensive Freeport strategic planning initiative since 2008.

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