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Baha Mar occupancy numbers ‘kind of low’

TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar (pictured) said yesterday he is “anxious” to see if Baha Mar can “grow occupancy numbers” without cannibalising other local hotels.

Baha Mar targets just 25% occupancy rate

Baha Mar is targeting just a 25 per cent average occupancy rate for 2017, the Minister of Tourism revealed yesterday, amid questions about the Government’s $9 million “equity contribution” to the project.

Adderley disagrees with Dame Joan over Baha Mar

FORMER Court of Appeal judge Neville Adderley has disagreed with former Chief Justice Dame Joan Sawyer’s recent critique of the Supreme Court-sealed deal to open Baha Mar, further charging that only a “perverse mind” would interpret the court’s sealing of the documents as an attempt to protect a “secret deal” by the government.

INSIGHT: The blame game

First Mr Izmirlian, now Dr Minnis. Malcolm J Strachan says the PLP must take responsibility for what is happening at Baha Mar, not pin it on others . . .

INSIGHT: A deal to truly tax our belief

Waiving VAT for the Chinese in order to get Baha Mar completed reveals the Government’s duplicitous treatment of “ungrateful” Bahamians, Malcom J Strachan says . . .

Miller praises ‘guts’ of govt in Baha Mar deal

TALL Pines MP Leslie Miller yesterday applauded the government for having the “guts” to see the Baha Mar deal through, condemning the criticism levelled at the Christie administration after a leaked email from the project’s general contractor revealed that all companies and suppliers working on the resort would be exempt from Value-Added Tax.

Galanis backs calls for more details over Baha Mar deal

FORMER PLP MP Philip Galanis yesterday echoed the Official Opposition’s criticism of the “drip drip” pace of details concerning the remobilisation and future sale of Baha Mar, and added to growing concerns over the apparent rise in Chinese influence.

Hobby Horse workers must wait on pay

THE roughly 200 former Baha Mar employees hired by or through The Hobby Horse Company will have to wait out the ongoing payout process to learn their fate, as Claims Committee personnel deliberate over how best to handle the “precarious” group.

Baha Mar construction 'to start in two weeks'

DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip Davis said yesterday that construction at the shuttered Baha Mar resort is expected to start in the next two weeks.

Baha Mar staff funds deposited

THE MONEY allocated to pay Baha Mar workers and unsecured creditors has been deposited by the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM), according to Claims Committee Chairman James Smith, who yesterday maintained that non-staff claims will be processed as “pay as you go until you run out”.

Government hopes Baha Mar workers will be paid by end of September

THE government yesterday expressed “hope” that the claims of former Bahamian workers at Baha Mar will be settled by the end of next month, with all other claims to be dealt with by year-end.

FNM continues call for Baha Mar details to be made public

THE Free National Movement (FNM) on Friday persisted with its call for the Christie administration to release additional details about the recently struck Baha Mar deal.

Miller: Open Baha Mar or be seen as lame ducks

TALL Pines MP Leslie Miller yesterday implored senior PLP members “to do all they can” to jumpstart the stalled Baha Mar project, suggesting that without it the party could be entering the 2017 general election as “lame ducks”.

Baha Mar developer is ‘astounded’ at legal letters

BAHA Mar’s developer, BMD Holdings, said it is “astounding” that nearly one year after engaging with China Construction America and China Export Import Bank in “sabotaging” the resort’s Chapter 11 case in the United States, the Christie administration has suddenly paid two law firms to craft hypothetical justifications for the government’s “ready-fire-aim” actions concerning the $3.5bn resort.

Mitchell ‘a hypocrite’ for comments over Baha Mar

ST Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman yesterday called Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell a “hypocrite of the highest order” for accusing Bahamians of launching “jingoistic” attacks against Baha Mar’s Chinese investors.

Baha Mar workers lobby against CCA involvement in resort

DISENFRANCHISED Baha Mar workers are lobbying against China Construction America’s (CCA) involvement in the sale and construction of the stalled Cable Beach mega resort.

INSIGHT: Izmirlian deserves a second chance with Baha Mar

Ishmael Lightbourne makes a plea to the government to broker a deal over the stalled mega resort for the good of the country . . .

NASSAU LIFE: An everyday story of Bahamian issues

Richard Coulson offers a succinct (and opinionated) summary of the recent spate of hot news topics.

Receivers accused of snubbing Baha Mar letters

A FORMER Baha Mar executive has suggested that the resort’s court-appointed receivers have failed to provide substantial responses to its letters and requests.

Developer pays tribute to Baha Mar workers

BAHA Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian and former president Tom Dunlap yesterday paid homage to the resort’s former 2,000 employees, promising to “search every possible option to resolve the pains we find Baha Mar in and to get it back under sail”.

Hearing behind closed doors over stalled resort’s future

LAWYERS for the government and those connected to the stalled Baha Mar resort met in the Supreme Court for a closed hearing before Justice Ian Winder on Wednesday, during which attorneys representing resort developer Sarkis Izmirlian were asked to leave the room because they had “no standing” to be party to what was discussed.

Butler-Turner says PM has let down Baha Mar workers

AFTER Prime Minister Perry Christie insisted people will “cheer with him when” Baha Mar opens, Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner said he has “let down employees” and the businesses involved with the resort.

Bank speaks out over Baha Mar

THE Export Import Bank of China yesterday hit out at unnamed “people with ulterior motives” who have “made irresponsible remarks” that have affected the actions being taken by the bank and court appointed receivers for the Baha Mar resort.

‘Significant movement’ on Baha Mar, says Prime Minister

WHILE a significant number of investors continue to show interest in the unopened Baha Mar resort, Prime Minister Perry Christie said the Export Import Bank of China has made significant movement in resolving the $3.5bn hotel’s issues which have caused the ongoing deadlock.

Baha Mar ruling delayed to 2016

NEW developments concerning the stalled Baha Mar resort prompted stakeholders yesterday to ask a Supreme Court judge for an adjournment of a winding-up petition until February 2016.

‘Things are good with Baha Mar’ says Christie

PRIME Minister Perry Christie said “things are good” with Baha Mar as he revealed that representatives from a leading resort in this hemisphere arrived in the country yesterday to put their interests forward to the Export Import Bank of China regarding the unopened mega resort.

Baha Mar: Minister confirms deal close

A SENIOR Cabinet minister in the Christie administration yesterday confirmed that stakeholders were close to finalising a deal to complete and open the $3.5 billion Baha Mar resort.

PM: Major investors are interested in Baha Mar

PRIME Minister Perry Christie said yesterday that major international investors are interested in the Baha Mar property, adding that some of these groups have already had talks with the Export-Import Bank of China.

Baha Mar construction ‘begins in six to eight weeks’

DESPITE Baha Mar being placed in receivership by the Supreme Court last week, Prime Minister Perry Christie remains optimistic that construction will begin within the next six to eight weeks to complete the project, Agriculture and Marine Resources Minister V Alfred Gray said yesterday.

‘Up to a year’ to finish Baha Mar

IF Baha Mar goes into full liquidation, it could take “six months to one year” for the process to finish, Free National Movement Deputy Leader Peter Turnquest “conservatively” estimated yesterday.

2,000 jobs go at Baha Mar

MORE than 2,000 Baha Mar employees have been made redundant effective today, according to a statement from the resort’s joint provisional liquidators.

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