Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said yesterday that a deal is "on the table" as it relates to the Baha Mar project at Cable Beach.
However, Mitchell suggested that deal depends on Baha Mar CEO Sarkis Izmirlian now doing his part.
"The prime minister himself has described how he has been on the phone to the president of the China Export-Import Bank every day for the last week, and the makings of the deal are actually on the table," said Mitchell, who appeared as a guest on the Guardian Radio talk show "Q and A" with hosts Quincy Parker and Adrian Francis. "It is just a question now of the developer stepping up to the plate and doing what he is supposed to do."
When asked for details on the deal, Mitchell said he was unable to say. But he said the matter is "almost resolved". "It has to do with the prime minister personally involved at the level of president of the bank, speaking to them, speaking to the developer, speaking to the contractors [and] trying to get everyone on the same page," Mitchell said.
"We understand what the value of that project is. "Remember the government is putting in some money to make sure people stay on at that project."
It was unclear specifically what Mitchell was referring to, but Prime Minister Perry Christie told The Nassau Guardian recently that an agreement had been reached regarding the government's payment to cover its portion of the costs associated with the new West Bay Street and related infrastructure.
In the House of Assembly nearly two weeks ago, Christie announced that he had received "good news" about the project, but did not explain what that meant.
The day after saying he had received good news in relation to Baha Mar, Christie said while the developer is paying its employees it was unclear how long that would be affordable.
"People are on the payroll, thousands, and our job is to recognize that when a hotel is closed and remains closed and unfinished you can only continue with that for so long," he said.
"There is a national urgency about this."
Christie has said that resolving Baha Mar's issues is the "single greatest obligation" he has right now in terms of daily governance.
Last month, the prime minister chaired a meeting with representatives of Baha Mar, China Construction American (CCA) and the Chinese ambassador to The Bahamas in hopes of reaching a "shared position".
Before then, Izmirlian expressed disappointment in the level of support the project has gotten from the government.
He also publicly expressed disappointment in CCA.
Since then, Christie said he has been in constant communication with the principals of the resort.
Last week, Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller charged that the Christie administration is not doing enough to assist Baha Mar.
He suggested that the government invest in the project if it would help the developer complete the resort.
Izmirlian informed staff in May that the property had canceled reservations and reassigned more than 1,000 employees from their original positions to jobs that needed to be done within the resort. The opening of the resort has been delayed three times. Izmirlian was recently in China amid increasing uncertainty over the fate of the project. He met with partners in China multiple times this year to discuss the issues preventing the property from opening. Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe said last Sunday he expects the resort to open in November. There are approximately 2,000 employees at Baha Mar.
The resort expects to hire an additional 3,000 people when it opens.
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