The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

THE government paid Baha Mar $45 million yesterday to mark the completion of the first 100 feet of the development of Cable Beach Casino.

The payment, which will eventually total more than $48 million, was a part of the Heads of Agreement between the Government and Baha Mar that required the government to pay 50 per cent of the total cost of infrastructural works, including roads and utilities.

According to Prime Minister Perry Christie, the government’s portion of the works to date amounts to a little over $45 million, with $3 million more to be paid on completion of all of the road works.

“By the agreement entered into with Baha Mar, once they arrived at the 100 foot mark the government is supposed to pay its share for the road works and infrastructure. That amounted by calculation to some $45.3 million, but there will be an additional two or three million dollars for the continued road works and connecting road works,” he said.

“It’s really a significant sum. That is why I began my speech with unscripted remarks by saying I’m coming here to congratulate them for charging me $45 million. The agreement says the payment will be made once they reach the 100ft mark and they announced it today and so they brought me here presumably to mark this occasion knowing that the intention is that they now want to collect from us.”

The Prime Minister said reaching the 100-foot mark is a significant milestone that shows Baha Mar is on pace for its scheduled December 2014 opening. He also said he expects the company to make an announcement very soon as to who their casino partner will be.

“Being on time and on budget builds credibility and strong confidence in the government and the people of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. It is my expectation that Baha Mar will soon be able to announce the selection of a major casino partner. Such a partner will add greatly to the customer base and cutting edge project of the world’s most famous brand represented by the hotel such as the Hyatt, Rosewood and Mondrian,” he said.

Tiger Woo, Executive Vice President of China State Construction thanked the Government and the people of the Bahamas for their support on the project.

“This great milestone,” he said, “shows the tremendous efforts the crew has put in. We are honoured by all the support we have received from the Bahamian government, from the ministries, from local contractors and everyone who worked on this project. “It’s only the first step, we still have another 29 and a half months to go. There will be many other milestones along the way but we believe with all the support we receive and the spirit of the team work we can deliver the many milestones along the way on time.”