The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business

Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian contractors were yesterday urged to band together and complete the $3.5 billion Baha Mar project themselves, a leading sector player slamming as “a fallacy” the Government’s stated position of not taking sides in the dispute.

Stephen Wrinkle, the immediate past Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) president, told Tribune Business that the job should be handed to a consortium of local companies, as they were the ones that had “performed and carried” Baha Mar to its current state.

And he urged the Christie administration to “get off the bench” and realise that Baha Mar’s principals, the Izmirlians, were their “true partner” in attempting to bring the mega resort development to fruition.

Mr Wrinkle suggested that none of the parties involved - Baha Mar, the Government and the Chinese financier and contractor - realised the extent of what was required to complete the $3.5 billion project’s construction.

“Man, what a disaster. What an utter disaster, and this is only the beginning,” Mr Wrinkle told Tribune Business of Baha Mar’s Chapter 11 filing.

“It only gets worse from here on out. I hope they can pull this rabbit out of the hat, get it resolved and get it finished. I’m sure it’s a very complex issue.”

Mr Wrinkle said that, based on Baha Mar’s Chapter 11 filings in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, it appeared as if the contractor, China Construction America, was under-staffed from the 2011 start.

It also seemed as if Baha Mar “overpaid” its contractor at the start, while the Chinese did not want to conduct any remediation work.

“This is a very large and complex project, and the Bahamas, being a relatively small country, stepped into the arena of the big boys on this,” Mr Wrinkle told Tribune Business.

“I don’t think any of the parties was quite prepared for the undertaking at hand.”

He demanded that the Christie administration “step up to the plate” and work with the Izmirlians to ensure the $3.5 billion project was completed and opened as rapidly as possible, arguing that it was clear China Construction American will not be returning to complete the job.

Suggesting that the Bahamian people, via the Government, should have held a Baha Mar Board seat due to the public land, tax incentives and marketing dollars granted to the project, Mr Wrinkle said: “We’re a vested partner.

“The Bahamian Government is extensively vested in this project, the Bahamian people are extremely vested in this project. For the Government to say they’re not taking sides is a fallacy; we’re partners with the Izmirlians.

“The Government has not stepped up to the plate and taken that position. What is China Construction America going to do for the Government? Nothing,” Mr Wrinkle added.

“Hindsight is 20/20. We are where we are, and need to get that project open and finished. The ripples are being felt throughout our economy, and this could be a catastrophe for our national economic development.

“If this goes to the courts we are going to be in dire straits. Thousands of companies are owed money, and thousands of people are employed. We have got skin in the game, and one that makes us a partner.

“We have not been a very good partner, and in my estimation have left the Izmirlians out to dry. The guy’s 90 per cent there. He’s had some bumps in the road, but it’s a construction project. We can’t duck and hide. It’s the Chinese that packed up and left without completing the job.

“Whose side are we on? The Government of the Bahamas, and by extension, the people of the Bahamas, have got to decide to take a stance on this and get this place open. We don’t have a choice; we can’t sit back and hope this gets resolved. This is pivotal to our national development. We’re up to our necks and can’t duck out now.”

Tribune Business previously suggested that the Government has avoided siding too closely with the Izmirlians because it is relying on the Chinese to deliver on the ‘wish list’/’begging bowl’ of economic projects that Prime Minister Perry Christie took with him to Beijing in January 2015.

The PLP’s re-election prospects are likely heavily tied to how much the Chinese deliver on this list, and offending them over Baha Mar would not aid this objective.

Then there are China’s other investments in the Bahamas, including the $200 million British Colonial Hilton expansion; the new Abaco port; plans for downtown Nassau’s redevelopment; and Hutchison Whampoa’s investments in Freeport.

Mr Wrinkle, meanwhile, called for a major Bahamian contractor, such as Osprey, to be placed in charge of completing Baha Mar’s construction. They could team with other Bahamian contractors, work out a payment plan for what they were currently owed by Baha Mar, and “complete this job and not let it fail”.

“It’s not out of reach of Bahamian contractors,” Mr Wrinkle told Tribune Business. “They’ve met every obligation, and are the ones holding the bag once again.

“The industry has really stuck at the job. Bahamian contractors stepped up to the plate and performed. It’s a testament to Bahamian contractors that they’ve carried Baha Mar. They’re the heroes in this, Osprey and the site contractors, working out there without getting paid. They need to be brought in and figure out what’s required to get this finished. I definitely think Bahamians can finish the job, and that’s what needs to be done.”

Another leading Bahamian contractor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had heard talk about local construction companies joining up to complete the Baha Mar construction.

They added, though, that this was only “talk on the street” for the moment, as no one had a complete picture of what construction work remained.