By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
Prime Minister Perry Christie said yesterday that the Government is arranging bi-lateral meetings with a high ranking delegation from China to discuss the completion and full opening of the stalled Baha Mar project.
Speaking to reporters at the 2016 annual Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) meeting, Mr Christie said: “We have been advised of some very significant personalities coming in from China with whom we are arranging to have bilateral meetings.
“These are very high ranking persons from China who are coming to this conference, and who will be the subject of interest on our part to again advance the thoughts of the Government of the Bahamas and the people of the Bahamas that this facility should be open; meaning that construction should resume to finish the rest of it as they move to identify the new leadership, new ownership on the premises.”
Some 3,000 delegates are expected to attend the three-day meeting of the IDB and IIC meeting at Baha Mar’s convention centre, which the project’s financier, the China Export-Import Bank, approved.
According to local coordinators of the event, preparations were financed by a joint investment of $11 million - $6 million from the Bahamian government, and $5 million from the IDB.
On June 29, last year, Baha Mar and 14 of its affiliated companies filed for bankruptcy in a Delaware court, blaming the resort’s contractor, China Construction America (CCA), for the construction delays that caused it to miss previous opening deadlines.
However, the bankruptcy protection for Baha Mar’s Bahamian-based companies was later thrown out. In reaction to the bankruptcy filing, the Government filed a winding-up petition against Baha Mar in the Supreme Court. The court later approved the appointed of the joint provisional liquidators, KRyS Global and UK-based AlixPartners.
Baha Mar was later placed into receivership with Deloitte and Touche’s (Bahamas) managing partner, Raymond Winder, and partners from the firm’s Hong Kong office being appointed receivers on behalf of the China Export-Import bank.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years, 7 months ago
You would think Izmirlian would have enough business sense not to try take a second bite out of the rotten apple known as Baha Mar. He just needs to stop and think for one moment what impact the garbage and other refuse from a fully operating Baha Mar would have on the level of toxic fume emissions from the public dump fires. The resulting enormous increase in deadly smoke would kill half of the residents of New Providence and many of the guests who would be so foolish as to stay at Baha Mar, which is down wind from the toxic smoke on many days when the dump flares up. Any buyer of the Baha Mar property would have a valid legal claim against the sellers and their representatives/agents involved in the sale to the extent required fair disclosures are not made in the selling material and contractual agreements of the existence, effects and implications for Baha Mar of this deadly hazard. I can only begin to imagine the legal claims that would be made against the owners/operators of Baha Mar by guests staying at the property who experience serious health issues from inhaling the toxic fumes.
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