Developer in legal battle with Chinese backers, no Christmas cheer for stalled US$3.5b Bahamas resort

The opening of the US$3.5 billion Baha Mar mega-resort in the Bahamas is expected to be delayed beyond the start of the Christmas season, with the developer deep in an escalating legal battle with the Chinese companies that are providing most of the finance and construction work.

Even if construction on the unfinished resort resumed this month, there is little chance the project could be completed by mid-December, the start of the high season for Bahamas resorts, according to local contractors who have worked on the project.

The sources said it would take a least five months to complete the resort, partly because the project has fallen behind on inspections while some key contractors have moved on to other jobs.

Baha Mar missed a March 27 opening because of construction delays and dwindling cash. Missing the high season, when resorts charge premium prices, would further hurt its finances.

Sarkis Izmirlian, whose Baha Mar Ltd is developer of the project, is trying to restructure the project’s finances in US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. A Bahamas resident, Izmirlian is the son of Armenian billionaire Dikran Izmirlian who made his fortunate in the peanut market.

But the Bahamian government, along with China’s Export Import Bank and China Construction America (CCA), are trying to block that move as they initiate a separate liquidation proceeding in Nassau. China ExIm has bankrolled most of the project and CCA is the main contractor.