Itaparica is the largest island in Brazil; it was a tourist trap for the wealthy back in the 70s and 80s, visited by top celebrities such as Sophia Loren, Pele, Bridget Bardot and Julio Iglesias, plus more recently film star Tom Hanks who said ‘’He would choose Itaparica island as the ideal place to be shipwrecked”. It was in 1990 that Andre Agassi won the South America Open ATP Tennis championship held annually on the island and now hotel brands there such as Club Med enjoy high occupancy rates. However, since the 80s, serious underfunding from historic state and federal governments has meant that the island just couldn’t keep pace with the modern city of Salvador just 12 km away across All Saints’ Bay. Fortunately, with reformed government practices, the past 10 years have seen aligned investments, increased funding in education and infrastructure, including the completion of 10 lane motorways in Salvador, new hospitals and the longest metro system in South America, linking the international airport to downtown in 25 minutes. A new $2b railway project is in progress for a six-lane road bridge linking Itaparica to Salvador city, thus reducing transportation of vehicles from 60 minutes travel time to a mere 12-minute journey. • Bahia’s 12 million residents enjoy a year-round sub-tropical climate • Bahia’s capital city of Salvador is the fourth largest in Brazil with a population of over three million •Salvador is predominantly a ‘high rise’ city with expansion to the north almost at saturation point •The natural area for city expansion is to the south across the bay to Itaparica Island and beyond •The Government is fully committed to the six-lane road bridge connecting Salvador/Itaparica •The Island population is currently 55,000 and is projected to rise the over a million. •Property speculation on the Island with investments of over US$20 bn anticipated. •Bay View Projetos has secured prime development land and has projects in progress •Development land in the city of Salvador is currently 4 or 5 times the cost of land on the island