Prime Minister Perry Christie has confirmed that he and Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian will meet today. The meeting is expected to take place at the Office of the Prime Minister on West Bay Street. It will come three months after Izmirlian, in a meeting with Christie at his office, revealed to him that he had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware. That announcement came as a surprise to Christie, who admitted that he was stunned by it.
Last week, Christie met with the chairman of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) in New York. Christie said the chairman assured him that Baha Mar will be completed and opened early.
"Despite the delays which have occurred with its opening, I have been reassured ... as a result of very positive discussions, of the commitment of the chairman of China State Construction [Engineering Corporation] to his full cooperation to ensure its early completion and opening," Christie said.
China Construction America (CCA) is Baha Mar's main contractor. It is a subsidiary of CSCEC.
The face-to-face meeting between Christie and Izmirlian will take place weeks after the two exchanged harsh words publicly. Christie previously suggested that Izmirlian was not of sound mind after the developer strongly criticized the government. On July 6, the prime minister said he was disappointed in both the "intemperate tone and incorrect content" of Baha Mar's press statement regarding the issue of payment to Baha Mar workers. Baha Mar had accused the government of "concocting a sideshow for its own purposes". In the weeks that followed, cooler heads have prevailed.
On September 4, Supreme Court Justice Ian Winder approved the appointment of provisional liquidators to oversee Baha Mar's affairs.
On September 15, a U.S. judge dismissed all of Baha Mar's Chapter 11 cases in relation to its Bahamian entities.
Izmirlian recently said he is cooperating with the provisional liquidators and was hoping for the best outcome. He recently told staff that due to Baha Mar's liquidity crisis, the provisional liquidators are working hard on getting the government to transfer the balance of the money it owes Baha Mar for its portion of the costs of the new West Bay Street and accompanying infrastructure.
Last week, they advised that they had secured funding to pay staff.
The provisional liquidators also confirmed last week that China Construction America was back at the Cable Beach site conducting an assessment.
Many people will be waiting to hear the outcome of today's meeting. The jobs of more than 2,000 Bahamians continue to hang in the balance. Baha Mar's original date for opening was December 2014.
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