Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe has thrown his support behind Baha Mar, standing up for the $3.5 billion mega resort development, despite news that rather than opening the majority of rooms in three hotels along with amenities, as advertised, Baha Mar is now only expected to celebrate the opening of the resort village's biggest hotel - the Baha Mar Resort and Casino - along with some amenities on Friday.
The opening of the other two properties will be scheduled "shortly thereafter", but given the five-month delay from the mega resort's original opening deadline, and the state of the buildings on the Cable Beach property, it is unclear exactly what "shortly thereafter" could mean.
"Baha Mar and its team intend to create something special for The Bahamas and unique for the Caribbean. They are anxious to have the project completed. All hands are on deck to meet deadlines," he said. "I am working with Baha Mar to bring this new reality to our tourism industry. We are about to take a giant step. That I welcome."
Wilchcombe, however, admitted that the delay was no surprise to him.
"It was very clear that Baha Mar would have a soft opening for the hotel and casino on March 27 with the grand opening of all pieces of the development scheduled for May," he told Guardian Business yesterday.
"My ministry's focus is to increase awareness, increase airlift and generally improve service quality [which is] a fundamental component to a quality product. In the interest of all, we must make Baha Mar a great success. We must ensure that the delay was worth the wait. Growth and development of the tourism industry will be significantly impacted by Baha Mar," Wilchcombe insisted.
As reported, the 100,000-square-foot casino, resort core amenities, entertainment and recreation areas - the Beach Sanctuary and TPC at Baha Mar golf course - will be open on March 27, as will the Baha Mar Casino and Hotel. Also, public spaces at SLS LUX at Baha Mar, Rosewood at Baha Mar and Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar will be open on March 27, with hotel rooms to come online shortly after, according to Baha Mar.
"We are on track to have all additional areas open by our grand opening celebration in May," a Baha Mar spokesperson said.
The entire industry has been watching the Baha Mar development, and its impact is already being felt across sections. For instance, Tropic Ocean Airways has offered a pre-booking special aligned with the opening of Baha Mar, through which customers could reserve a flight from Miami Seaplane base to Nassau to experience Baha Mar first-hand in the month of March.
"Tropic Ocean Airways is] looking forward to the opening of Baha Mar in Nassau's Cable Beach, and are pleased to provide a convenient, reliable and exciting sea to runway travel experience for guests out of Miami aboard our new fleet of Cessna aircraft," said Tropic Ocean Airways CEO Rob Ceravolo.
It is not clear what - if any - effect the delay will have on Tropic Ocean's offer. Even the court system, where Baha Mar and its neighbor Sandals are fighting over land, has been observing the development; Baha Mar told the court it would lose "hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses and lost revenues" and employment for thousands of Bahamians would be delayed should the resort be blocked from meeting its schedule. However, as Guardian Business has reported, the delays are not a surprise, given the track record of the companies involved.
China State Construction Engineering Company - parent company of China Construction America, the builders of the resort - has been sanctioned by the World Bank for fraud before. The specifics of the case revolve around the company's ability to bring projects in on time, and on budget.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
