The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor THE CASINO hotel for the $2.6 billion Baha Mar project could "be as high as 20 storeys" by year-end, Tribune Business was told yesterday, with work on the core "superstructure" 50 per cent complete by that point. Speaking to this newspaper ahead of today's one-year anniversary for the Baha Mar project's full construction start, Robert Sands, the Cable Beach resort developer's senior vice-president for public and governmental affairs, said it was still on target to complete the core resort campus by end-2013 and be fully operational by December 2014. He added that Baha Mar was also about one-third of the way towards meeting its public commitment to employ 4,000 Bahamians over the lifetime of the construction phase, and had issued about 25 per cent of the total $400 million worth of contracts reserved for local contractors. "Everything is still on target," Mr Sands told Tribune Business. "We started the core construction in earnest from November 2011, so we've seen foundation pilings, concrete support beams and, to some extent, the concrete slabs being poured on the casino hotel." Expressing confidence that Baha Mar and its main contractor/project manager, China State Construction, would meet the July 1, 2012, target for having the casino hotel built to 100 feet above grade level, Mr Sands said reaching this milestone would trigger a number of moves as per the project's revised Heads of Agreement with the Government. "There are a number of things that kick-in as a result of that," he explained. "There are certain things, the conveyances of certain land, land closures, Skyline Drive. Right at that point, things happen." The start of construction on the core casino and casino hotel, together with the 200,000 square convention centre and associated hotel, will provide further confirmation for Bahamians that, some nine years after Baha Mar was first conceived, the project is finally becoming a reality. Persons will be able to see, and almost touch/feel, Baha Mar as it rises from the ground. By year-end 2012, Mr Sands told Tribune Business, Bahamians and residents will likely see "a casino hotel that may be as high as 20 storeys. That will be very significant, and also other parts of the podium will be at different heights from the ground. "We plan to have the superstructure completed by the end of 2013, and it's fair to say we may be half-way there in terms of that being built by the end of this year." By "superstructure" and "podium", Mr Sands means the casino and casino hotel, together with the convention centre and convention hotel, plus new entranceway to the project from JFK Drive. Foundation pilings for the convention hotel and entranceway are already being put in, with piling also being done for the luxury hotel. The Baha Mar executive told Tribune Business that the final demolition of the Nassau Beach Hotel should take place by end-March 2012, paving the way for further foundation piling and seawall work - contracts that should all be given to Bahamian contractors and companies. "We've put 1,500 Bahamians to work to date, and the number of foreigners is just over 600," Mr Sands said, adding that just over $100 million in contracts had gone to Bahamian firms. "We're committed to employing 4,000 Bahamians over the life of this project. We're at the one-third mark of that, and at the one-quarter mark of the $400 million that will be spent with Bahamian contractors. We have a lot of work available that will provide employment for the remaining two years." He described the 7,000 full-time Bahamian jobs that will be created when Baha Mar full opens in December 2014 as "the cherry on the pie". Mr Sands said the Morgan's-branded lifestyle hotel will be constructed between the Wyndham property and where the Nassau Beach Hotel now sits, and the beach and pool area will lie between that and the Rosewood-branded property. He added that, while Baha Mar did not have to announce its casino brand/partner until six months before it opened, the developer was continuing to "make progress and do due diligence on the shortlisted groups" seeking that position. "I think we've been very happy with what we've accomplished to date, and been able to keep our promise to the Bahamian people that we will build this beautiful Baha Mar project on time, on budget and for Bahamians going forward," Mr Sands told Tribune Business.