The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A well-known QC says there is no need for a formal arbitration process to resolve the $3.5 billion Baha Mar dispute, arguing that the court-appointed joint provisional liquidators (JPLs) were fully capable of mediating and “sponsoring a resolution”.

Wayne Munroe told Tribune Business: “Certain of the contracts have arbitration clauses, but it’s more a matter of who do you restructure going forward completing this deal.

“The JPLs, as court-appointed officers, will  no doubt mediate between the parties and, with independent, trained accounting professionals who are officers of the court, I don’t see that you need arbitration because they are people who can get people together and they know the numbers behind things. Hopefully they can sponsor a resolution of it in terms of through their effort getting people to agree.”

Mr Munroe’s comments came as the parties to the Baha Mar dispute were yesterday locked in a second day of meetings and negotiations at the Melia Nassau Beach Resort.

Sarkis Izmirlian, Baha Mar’s principal, is understood to have postponed a planned trip to Switzerland to be present with other executives from the developer for the meetings.

Also present are the Government’s negotiating team, headed by Allyson Maynard-Gibson, the attorney general, and teams from the China Export-Import Bank, the project’s financier, and China Construction America (CCA), the contractor.

Mediating are the joint provisional liquidators, Ed Rahming, the KRyS Global (Bahamas) accountant and partner, and Nick Cropper and Alastair Beveridge from, AlixPartner Services UK. They are being represented by Alfred Sears QC and Raynard Rigby.

The meetings are being held after CCA was supposed to complete its assessment of the nature, and cost, of the remaining construction work necessary to complete the Baha Mar project. That assessment was supposed to have concluded last week, and was viewed as essential to giving the talks a starting reference point.

It is unclear how much progress has been made over the first two days in securing a commercial, out-of-court settlement to the dispute, and whether the parties are serious.

Mr Munroe, meanwhile, added: “I think it was reported that the general contractor  was sent back on site for an evaluation. That’s a positive step because it provides information.

“I think the joint provisional liquidators have been meeting with all of the stakeholders, so as professionals trained in that area,  they will do what is necessary to try and get people together to see if they can come up with a compromise. If they can, and we all hope and wish that they can, then hopefully the matter can be resolved and settled before November.”