bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

The ailing US$3.5 billion Baha Mar resort project in the Bahamas is preparing to wind down operations and cut more than 2,000 jobs if the developer fails to strike a quick deal with its main lender, China's Export Import Bank, according to US bankruptcy court filings.
The Baha Mar resort - featuring 2,000 hotel rooms and a Las Vegas-style casino - and developed by Sarkis Izmirlian, the son of an Armenian billionaire, had increased staffing earlier this year before a planned March opening.
The finished resort would employ 5,000 people and boost the island nation's slack economy. However, after missing that deadline, a cash crunch forced Izmirlian's Baha Mar to file for bankruptcy protection on June 29 in what was also a setback to China's ambitions in the region.
The resort is 97 per cent finished, but there is not enough money to complete it. Construction has been suspended for several months, court records show.
"If an agreement with [China's Export Import Bank] is not reached [soon], the debtors will be compelled to immediately downsize their operations to a minimum over approximately 45 to 60 days," Baha Mar said in court documents filed this week.
The bank declined to comment for this story.
Before filing for bankruptcy, Baha Mar employed more than 2,400 people, with a monthly payroll expense of US$7.5 million, court filings show.
Baha Mar said the Chinese bank had refused to advance the remaining US$112 million under a US$2.45 billion loan that bankrolled most of the project.
It blamed its construction delays on main contractor China Construction America (CCA), which is a unit of China State Construction Engineering Corp. CCA said Baha Mar had mismanaged the project.
Without a deal with the Chinese bank, Baha Mar will have to secure a new source of financing with a goal of completing construction and opening the resort.
Baha Mar is also hoping toretain the services of nearly 100 staff, court filings said.


Fate of Baha Mar Bahamas resort hinges on Chinese bank deal

News

China