By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Perry Christie said yesterday the government is currently “observing and energising” negotiations between the Export Import Bank of China (EXIM) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) in hopes of “persuading the acceleration” of construction at Baha Mar.
Responding to criticism from East Grand Bahama MP Peter Turnquest in the House of Assembly yesterday, Mr Christie denied misleading the public on the progress of Baha Mar negotiations and said the government does not control when construction on the 3.5 billion stalled resort will restart.
“The point I made in my previous conversation (in Parliament) was that essentially the matter was between the financing bank and the receiving managers and I laid on the table a statement which has now been acted upon,” Mr Christie said.
“Mr Speaker, very active decisions are currently being made with respect to the construction site. I do not control the activity, it is a matter between the bank, the receiving manager and the courts. But because we are the Ministry of Finance in the Office of the Prime Minister, we are observing and persuading the acceleration and energizing of the construction site and it’s progress.”
Last month, Prime Minister Christie touted the government’s success in negotiations with the EXIM Bank and CSCEC over the stalled Baha Mar resort, saying all parties have entered into a “framework agreement” to complete the project “as expeditiously as possible”.
However he gave no concrete resolution on the issue of payment to unsecured Bahamian creditors, only saying they would be “considered” during the re-mobilisation process, adding that negotiations were underway to agree to appropriate timelines and a schedule for completion.
During his earlier communication in the House, Mr Christie further addressed concerns over whether new contractors would be hired to complete Baha Mar. He said court-appointed receiver managers confirmed that CSCEC and China Construction America (CCA) Bahamas are contracted to, and will remain in place to, finish the resort.
While reading a joint statement on behalf of the EXIM Bank and CSCEC, Mr Christie maintained his optimism saying the framework agreement provided a pathway forward for the completion of the resort.
Baha Mar announced that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 29, 2015 in a US court. However the cases for the resort’s Bahamian properties were thrown out.
Last October, the Supreme Court placed the resort into receivership at the request of the EXIM Bank.
A formal sale process for the $3.5 billion project began in March, when Baha Mar’s court appointed receivers hired a Canadian real estate firm to market the project to potential buyers.
The resort was initially slated to open December 2014, but faced a series of delays, which it blamed on CCA.
Comments
BoopaDoop 7 years, 10 months ago
"PRIME Minister Perry Christie said yesterday the government is currently “observing and energising” negotiations between the Export Import Bank of China (EXIM) and China State Construction Engineering"
Every time this man talks about Bahamar, he uses fluffy words which we can all see through. These 'negotiations' seem to start but never come to fruition.
ThomasLewis 7 years, 10 months ago
BoopaDoop as a former supporter of the PLP and previous employee of Baha Mar the talks from the PM have become so tiring.
It wearies the physical body in hearing him speak on the mobility of the continued construction of Baha Mar.
It is best for him to be in silence because he is just revealing himself more and causing mistrust of him and the present government.
Since 2012 they have done more hurt than good for this nation....... So sad!!
paul_vincent_zecchino 7 years, 10 months ago
Does your instinct tell you we'll be reading reports of imminent completion, for the indefinite future?
cmiller 7 years, 10 months ago
Jokes for days!!!! Anybody in the Bahamas believes this????
by cmiller
by cmiller
Tarzan 7 years, 10 months ago
Simply pathetic.
gofigure 7 years, 10 months ago
I don't believe a word of it!!!
gofigure 7 years, 10 months ago
I don't believe a word of it.
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 10 months ago
THIS BLITHERING CORRUPT IDIOT CHRISTIE IS GOING TO GIVE THE CHINESE WHATEVER THEY WANT, PERIOD! IF NEED BE CHRISTIE WILL TAX ALL OF US EVEN MORE SO HE CAN PAY THE CHINESE TO COMPLETE THE BAHA MAR DEVELOPMENT. The corrupt Christie-led PLP government has already sucked the "non-politically connected" private sector businesses dry of financial resources as part of its social welfare campaign aimed at buying votes at any cost by making voters dependent on government jobs, government handouts and government concessions of one kind or another. Now Christie wants to give mega millions in additional concessions to the Chinese which will result in honest hard working Bahamians being taxed out of business or taxed to death. Bottom line: Lamed-brain Christie and his loyal buffoons are ignorant corrupt imbeciles totally incapable of formulating and executing on national economic policies that would create well paying private sector jobs that in turn would result in an expanded tax base to lessen the tax burden on an already severely over-taxed "non-politically connected" private commercial sector. It's really all as simple as that!
Honestman 7 years, 10 months ago
Couldn't have expressed it any better. Spot on!
B_I_D___ 7 years, 10 months ago
Funny...no word at all from the auditors, whom I believe are in charge of handling any transactions or sale of property...all of a sudden Christie is massaging the Chinese backs to get back to work...sickening. I thought Deloitte had some higher standards than allow all this political interference.
jackbnimble 7 years, 10 months ago
The same song and dance for every time. Always something on the horizon that never materializes. Christie and his Government have never had a clear plan for anything. All they've ever done was copy the former administration or piggy back on their blue prints. By now we should realize that just wanted to get in fatten up their bank accounts and for the glory of the position.
They are clueless coming in and will be clueless when we vote them out!
Honestman 7 years, 10 months ago
Any guesses which one will open for business first - Baha Mar or NHI?
Both "coming soon" according to Christie. Sounds familiar!
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