The developer of an enormous US$3.5 billion hotel-and-casino project being built in the Bahamas announced that it has filed for US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, blaming a Chinese construction firm for delays.
Baha Mar Ltd said the US filings were being done "voluntarily" in an effort to complete construction and open the mega-resort touted as the most expensive project ever undertaken in the Bahamas.
CEO Sarkis Izmirlian said he was "committed to doing all I realistically can to move Baha Mar forward" to completion and provide a "spark-plug" for the economy of the island chain off Florida's east coast.
"The Chapter 11 process provides the appropriate venue to create a viable financial structure that places Baha Mar's interests foremost," he said in a statement.
As with previous Baha Mar statements, Izmirlian blamed the incomplete work and missed deadlines on lead general contractor China Construction America, which received a US$2.4 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of China and shipped in Chinese workers to construct the resort. Executives with the Chinese company could not be reached for comment.
The filing was made in US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware and Baha Mar intends to file an application in the Bahamian Supreme Court seeking approval of US court orders.