By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
BAHA MAR executives said yesterday that under its Heads of Agreement with the Government the latter has ‘no right’ to ‘exclude, discount or modify’ any of the infrastructure cost included in the company’s determination, telling Tribune Business that they anticipated that the Government would honour its agreement.
In an interview with Tribune Business yesterday Uri Clinton, senior vice-president and general counsel at Baha Mar, said all infrastructure costs associated with the reconfiguration and construction of West Bay Street had already been anticipated under the protocol in the Heads of Agreement and that the HOA gave Baha Mar the authority to make a determination on costs. Mr Clinton was responding to comments by Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis who on Tuesday indicated that some of the key issues to be resolved were, what is admissible relative to costs, what the money was spent on and whether it was necessary.
Mr Clinton said: “I agree with the Deputy Prime Minister that we have made progress but that is not for us a surprise because our position has always been that we have to adhere to the Heads of Agreement and in the Heads of Agreement the costs were estimated at $90 million and we have come in at $89.9 million which is right in line, almost dead on what the parties had acknowledged the total cost could be for shared infrastructure. The project company which is Baha Mar under the HOA has the right to make the determination. When you look at what the standard of review is for what costs should be included, according to the HOA it is the project company’s determination.”
Mr Clinton added: “We have made the determination formally and officially to the Government and we have had the meetings with The Deputy Prime Minister to make sure that we have provided all the necessary documentation so there would be no question as to the basis of our determination but there is no right under the HOA for the Government to discount or exclude or modify any of the cost that were included in Baha Mar, the project company’s determination.”
Mr Clinton noted that all costs incurred had been anticipated under the protocol in the HOA.
He said: “The Heads of Agreement required that the project company and the Government to get together and have a protocol to control the project and that was agreed July 28, 2011. Every cost that we incurred was already anticipated under the protocol in the Heads of Agreement. From our perspective there is no question that we exceed the $70 million threshold.”
Under the agreement the Government has with Baha Mar, the Government would be obligated to pay $45 million plus $2.8 million if the cost of the re-configuration of West Bay Street exceeded $70 million. If it was less than that the government only has to pay 50 per cent. The Government agreed to reimburse Baha Mar for its portion once the casino tower reached the 100 foot mark, which occurred in February.
“We anticipate that the Government should and will honour their commitment. To date the government owes $48.1 million. They have made payment of $28.3 million and we are now waiting on the remaining $19.7 million. I thought the Government had done a good job negotiating and enforcing the Heads of Agreement because with our shared cost of $89.9 million the government will get the benefit for every $1 it reimburses, the benefit of $2.60 cents. You can’t get a better deal than that especially when they didn’t have to pay any of that cost until after the infrastructure was complete as indicated by reaching 100 feet on the casino tower. We have lived up to our side of the bargain and the Government has indicated that they will to,” Mr Clinton said. Mr Clinton noted that the total expenditure was $118 million but that only $89.8 millions had been allotted as shared cost.
Comments
wave 10 years, 9 months ago
WELCOME TO THE BAHAMAMS !
歡迎您巴哈馬 ！
Reality_Check 10 years, 9 months ago
The Chinese have taken a page from the US's play book when it comes to protecting their own economic and security interests. The Chinese know full well that all they need do is keep the "borrowing tit" on the insatiable sucking lips of the Bahamian Government and their cronies until the national debt of the Bahamas reaches the point of no return at which point the very soul of the Bahamas will have been sold to the devil!
concernedcitizen 10 years, 9 months ago
what the chinese bought already is our vote in the united nations ,and if we continue our prolific baby making and using the civil service to absorb it we will have to continue to borrow and tax ,,,
USAhelp 10 years, 9 months ago
You ask for it so now pay ths price. Its only going to get worse.
john33xyz 10 years, 9 months ago
Too bad Baha Mar, we don't have any more money to give you - we spent it all subsidizing the import of duty free baby food and diapers and providing doctors and supplies in unlimited amounts at PMH for the delivery room (old folks need dey pressure pills? too bad for them too).
banker 10 years, 9 months ago
If we don't have the money, the Chinese will gladly lend us more. Slavery een gone, just the massa changes.
John 10 years, 9 months ago
While the government may not have a right to 'tamper with infrastructure costs', of the road works as the party being required to pay on behalf of the Bahamian people, it has a right to examine the works and the costs associated with them. Where does Bah Mar get that attitude that, 'once we bill you, you must pay up and shut up." Firstly why does the government have to foot any of this bill in any event? If not for the bah mar project, would the road works be necessary? In Florida for example when large projects like this happen, the owners of the project are, in most cases do all the necessary infrastructure associated with their project. Several Walmarts that opened in recent years had to pay for all the road improvements and infrastructure required for them to open their stores. In this instance the government agreed to pay a portion. They have a right to ensure that they are being billed fairly and that the Bahamian people are not being hoodwinked. No one will deny that the road works and of top quality, very well laid out and finished. But there are two concerns: 1. The number of round-a-bouts for persons who have to drive that way every day it is a dizzying drive. Sometimes you feel like you spend more time going around these round-a-bouts than you spend driving on the straight road. And, there are always accidents during peak traffic periods, because persons do not know how to use these round-abouts properly. Imagine what will happen when the project opens and they volume of traffic may double in some periods. Secondly, paedestrain crossings are placed just where cars exit the round-a-bouts So either motorists do not see persons waiting to cross in time to stop, or when they do stop, they are rammed or nearly missed by cars still in the round-a-bout who are not anticipating the sudden stop. This needs to be corrected because when both the paedestrain and motor traffic increases in the area, there will be more accidents and persons getting hit by vehicles when trying to cross.
banker 10 years, 9 months ago
Ummm, why do we have to pay what they bill us --- because the idiotic Heads of Agreement says so. PGC doesn't realise that anchor projects are an anchors around the necks of Bahamians.
leonardo85 9 years, 2 months ago
They have to approach this matter cautiously, they should have calculated the cost and cleared the matter to the government before launching this project. However, construction works could be expensive but there are companies like http://palmerwest.net">http://palmerwest.net which offers efficient but affordable service.
isabella 9 years, 2 months ago
If the government is tampering with the cost then it might create a negative impact. However, now plenty of construction companies are mushrooming everywhere, but before approaching any new contractor make sure that he has http://clsi.com">Alabama state contractors license.
zinos85 9 years, 2 months ago
If the infrastructure cost is too high then they should consider making changes to the plan to cut down unnecessary costs. However, they should also take help of a commercial dredging services provider like http://americanunderwaterservices.com/">http://americanunderwaterservices.com/.
isabella 9 years, 2 months ago
The government should never interfere in such matters, if they cut down the amount of money then it might affect the construction process. These days many construction companies are mushrooming but it would be better to approach a reputed company like http://roblconstruction.com">http://roblconstruction.com for construction work.
leonardo85 9 years, 2 months ago
The government probably has some reason to interfere in the construction matters but it should not take any step that would hamper the progress of the project. Since this is a huge construction project, the construction companies involved in the work should use the right safety supplies which they can find at http://coloradosafetysupply.com">http://coloradosafetysupply.com.
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