The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The importation of hundreds of Chinese workers to complete Baha Mar is unlikely to “ruffle anyone’s feathers”, a former Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) president said yesterday, adding: “No point in crying over spilt milk.”

Stephen Wrinkle told Tribune Business that Bahamian contractors were not “getting too worked up” about the re-hiring of China Construction America (CCA) as Baha Mar’s general contractor, with many happy to be paid the collective $74 million that the industry is owed.

“I don’t think anyone is too worked up about who does the work. The major concern is to get it done and get it open,” he said.

“I think that we’ll find that the scope of works is significantly more than was anticipated.”

There were suggestions that CCA’s importation of Chinese labour, and the number of work permits required, was likely to cause a surprise and consternation in some quarters.

However, Mr Wrinkle said no one could be shocked, given that the original Baha Mar Heads of Agreement permitted the engagement of thousands of Chinese workers. And it now ought to be common knowledge that where Chinese investment is involved, Chinese labour and materials soon follow, and are key parts of the deal.

“There were thousands here to begin with, so several hundred are not going to ruffle anyone’s feathers,” Mr Wrinkle told Tribune Business of the Chinese workers.

“There’s no point in crying over spilt milk and looking back. If anyone got money out of CCA, it’s a blessing; it seldom happens.

“It’s been a long haul, a slug fest. Nobody is totally happy with the result; everybody sacrificed something. The end game is to get it finished.”

Meanwhile, a key ally of Baha Mar’s original developer, Sarkis Izmirlian, wished the Christie administration luck in dealing with CCA, given its previous failures to deliver the $3.5 billion project on time and on budget.

“They will see how inefficient they are, and how easy it is for them to miss deadlines” Dionisio D’Aguilar, a former Baha Mar director, said of CCA.

“The Government has gone all in with CCA, who have sold them a dream. Perry Christie will pull out all the hair remaining on his head dealing with CCA. They never met a deadline when we were there. They were late by a year on the Convention Centre, and had to put them into arbitration.”

While expressing pleasure that Bahamian contractors and former Baha Mar employees were being paid what they were owed, Mr D’Aguilar said Mr Izmirlian had also promised to do this, but was ignored by both the Government and the Chinese.

Suggesting that Baha Mar’s eventual buyer/owner was bound to be Chinese, and strongly connected to the Beijing government, Mr D’Aguilar questioned whether they would have the necessary experience in dealing with the North American tourism market.

“It’s going to be easier to attract someone from North America than Hong Kong or Macau,” he told Tribune Business. “No one else is going to buy that property other than the Chinese. That’s why it concerns me. I don’t know who the operators will be, and they probably have no experience operating in North America.”

With a general election coming by May 2017, Mr D’Aguilar said the Government was likely to push hard for at least part of Baha Mar to be open in time for the end of winter tourist season.

With the Christie administration needing to show its Baha Mar strategy of opposing Mr Izmirlian and the Chapter 11 bid has delivered, Mr D’Aguilar added: “Even if it isn’t ready, the Government will make it ready. They’re under the gun.”

The Government has previously indicated its strategy is focused on opening the hotel/casino, hotel and convention centre, and the golf course in time for the election.

However, Mr D’Aguilar questioned how the property could open without a brand, given that the Baha Mar logo is emblazoned all over the development, or whether the current name will be retained.