Source: Date: Updated: |
TheBahamasInvestor.com
Tuesday, August 23, 2016 Tuesday, August 23, 2016 |
Construction is set to resume on stalled mega-resort Baha Mar thanks to a new agreement between the Bahamas’ Government, China’s Export-Import Bank and “a world class hotel and casino operator”, announced Prime Minister Perry Christie last night.
Under the agreement, the $3.5 billion resort, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2015, will be completed by China Construction America, funded by China’s Exim Bank and then sold. The Prime Minister declined to name the new buyer but said they were a “qualified world-class operator”.
Christie said the new deal was the result of months of “Herculean effort” by negotiators and added that Bahamian contractors and former Baha Mar employees would be either partially or fully reimbursed for their losses. Construction will begin on the site next month, with the casino, casino hotel, convention centre and its hotel and golf course opening before the end of the 2016-2017 winter season.
“This agreement represents a signal achievement and a milestone in the troubled history of Baha Mar,” Christie said. “Over the coming months economic opportunities will be felt in more and more homes.
“This is a good day for The Bahamas. This is a great day for Bahamians.”