The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

FORT Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins said yesterday that the status of the Baha Mar project is more “worrisome” than Prime Minister Perry Christie is letting the public know.

Dr Rollins, who is shadow minister of national security, said a new Free National Movement administration must “urgently convene” a Commission of Inquiry to look into the matter.

Dr Rollins also claimed that the estimated cost to fix “construction deficiencies” in the stalled project have allegedly skyrocketed to $1.8 billion dollars. He also claimed that he was told that a recent site inspection of Baha Mar by an insurer concluded that the property is “presently uninsurable” and has become a $3.2 billion liability.

In a statement, Dr Rollins said Mr Christie has been “irresponsible in creating false perceptions” and encouraging Bahamians to have unrealistic expectations regarding the opening of Baha Mar, when the project will “neither be cheap nor a quick fix.”

“I am reliably informed that a recent site inspection of Baha Mar by an insurer, as a precondition to insuring the property, revealed some alarming findings. These findings caused the insurer to conclude that the $3.2 billion asset is presently uninsurable. In effect, due to construction deficiencies, in its present state the property has been assessed to be a $3.2 billion liability,” Dr Rollins claimed.

His statement did not include evidence to substantiate this.

“I am further advised that the repair costs to remediate the construction deficiencies may be as high as $1.8 billion and not the previously estimated figure of $600 million provided by Prime Minister Christie. Given this information, the question must be asked: To what extent is this project even redeemable? These reports of severe construction deficiencies once again begs the question why the government chose to take sides in a private dispute between the developer and the contractor involving allegations by the developer of non-performance by the contractor? Why did the Christie administration strenuously object to the developer’s efforts to seek legitimate recourse via US bankruptcy protection proceedings that it could not access via our local Bahamian courts due to the absence of any suitable Bahamian bankruptcy laws?”

Dr Rollins said the Christie administration’s role in this matter has been “both irresponsible and irrational” and the Bahamian people deserve a complete and transparent disclosure of all of the facts.

He said a new FNM administration must launch a Commission of Inquiry into the Baha Mar project “as a means of uncovering the absolute truth and rebuilding our nation’s reputational integrity.”

Last month, Mr Christie revealed that two firms, one with ties to Bahamian investors, have been shortlisted as the court-appointed receivers of the project move closer to deciding which entity will acquire the West Bay Street development.

However, he said the final decision is solely at the discretion of receiver managers who were in Beijing, China at the time negotiating a contract to remobilise and complete the project as soon as possible.

Mr Christie said China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) along with the resort’s general contractor China Construction America (CCA), its subsidiary, were also participating in the talks.

He did not name the two shortlisted groups, but said neither involved developer Sarkis Izmirlian.

Baha Mar was initially expected to open in December 2014. The property is currently in receivership.