The Export-Import Bank of China has agreed to finance the construction and completion of the multi-billion dollar Bahamas based Baha Mar Resort in conjunction with China Construction America (CCA).

Making the announcement during the country’s 2016/2017 Budget Communication earlier this week, Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie said work is expected to resume soon.

He did not disclose any timelines for resumption of construction or how much it would cost to complete the project, but he said the details should become apparent in the near future.

For Sale
The unfinished Baha Mar resort complex was officially been put on the block after the financial interests involved were unable to reach an agreement that would have resulted in the completion of the $3.5 billion Bahamas project a few months ago.

The listing followed a six-month stalemate between developer Sarkis Izmirlian; the primary contractor CCA Bahamas, a division of China State Construction Engineering Corp.; the Export-Import Bank of China; and the Bahamas government.

Izmirlian, who originally planned to open Baha Mar in late 2014, blamed construction problems for repeated delays, then unsuccessfully attempted to put the project into bankruptcy in June in order to protect his assets.

Bamboozled
Some concern has been raised however that the government is being ‘bamboozled’ by the Chinese government in regards to the new developments surrounding the project. According to Former Baha Mar Director, Dionisio D’Aguilar, the bidding process to sell the megaresort was disingenuous. He says he does not understand the point of going through the process of selling the project and ending with the same result under the same contractor.

D’Aguilar also questioned the wisdom in allowing a foreign firm to take full control of the project considering the 15% unemployment rate affecting Bahamian citizens and what he describes as the willingness of Bahamian companies to complete the project. He says he does not understand why ‘the government would allow the Chinese government to finish the project when Bahamian companies are desperate to do so’.

The 1,000-acre beachfront project was originally slated to open in late 2014, though it has since been set back by delays. Plans call for four new hotels totaling about 2,200 rooms as well as a casino, a 200,000-square-foot convention center and a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.