Reported efforts by the Christie administration to strike a deal with the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) to supposedly have China Construction America (CCA) complete the $3.5 billion Baha Mar megaresort have drawn differing reactions from across the spectrum, with one common refrain: details, details, details.

To begin with, Guardian Business sources close to the owners of one of the resorts on the property confirmed that the reports are not exactly new.

"We have heard similar intelligence from different sources for the last month or so. All I can say is I hope there is fact behind it so we can finally open this magnificent resort," one well-placed source said yesterday.

The "intelligence" to which the source referred is the deal Prime Minister Perry Christie has reportedly engineered to get Baha Mar open. Christie's lead negotiators in the Baha Mar saga - Sir Baltron Bethel and Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson - were said to be in China to cement the terms over the weekend.

CEXIM Bank is the original financier of the project, to the tune of $2.45 billion. It is now the owner of the megaresort, having put it into receivership in October 2015. The deal as reported is for CCA to complete the project at a cost of anywhere between the $600 million Christie has said the completion would cost up to as much as $1 billion, financed by CEXIM Bank. Under this plan, Izmirlian's ouster from the project would stand. This plan would put the eventual price tag for the resort at close to $5 billion.

CCA was the original general contractor for the resort, and it was in large part the deterioration of the relationship between CCA and Izmirlian that led to the developer filing for bankruptcy and ultimately to the collapse of the project.

In fact, an open letter purportedly sent to Christie by people terming themselves "disenfranchised Baha Mar citizens" contains a scathing denunciation of CCA and ultimately demands that the prime minister not allow CCA to be the general contractor to complete Baha Mar or to be its eventual owner.

Confirm or deny

Free National Movement Deputy Leader and Shadow Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest yesterday asserted that the reports "cannot be real".

"I believe that the government has an obligation to explain to the Bahamian people as quickly possible what exactly is being contemplated, if anything at all, and to put for all Bahamians to see and read for themselves and understand, any heads of agreement that is being proposed [into the public domain]," Turnquest said. "We're calling on the government to step forward and either confirm or deny that this report is accurate."

Turnquest said whatever deal is struck in the matter "must be fair to both sides".

"We recognize how important this project is to restarting the growth of the Bahamian economy, but we must make sensible deals. We shouldn't make a short-term deal that has long-term negative consequences to the Bahamian people. This seems to be, on the face of it, one of those deals that is not in the best long-term interests of the Bahamian people," he said.

The shadow minister also told Guardian Business he was concerned about CCA's increasing stake in The Bahamas' economy.

"I have been saying for over three years now, I am concerned about the level of investment in our economy by a foreign, state-owned entity. People have said we have other investors in here also, and that's true. We have a concentration of other investors, but I believe that this one state-owned entity is threatening to own a significant portion of our economy.

"I don't believe that bodes well for the future of our country. I don't believe it bodes well for the diversification of the tourism sector or the economy as a whole. So while I welcome, certainly, investments from anywhere, including China, I believe that we as a country have to be careful that we don't create such an imbalance that the balance of power and sovereignty... is put in jeopardy by putting all of our eggs in one basket," he said.

DNA demands

And Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Deputy Leader Chris Mortimer yesterday charged that the Christie administration has been given "yet another opportunity to finally address this obvious national crisis in a way that benefits the nation as a whole".

Mortimer fired off a statement yesterday expressing the "hope" that the government's negotiators have "learned from their previous mistakes and are prepared to strenuously negotiate in the best long-term interests of The Bahamas".

"These latest rounds of negotiations follow two prior attempts by this Christie administration to navigate this issue on behalf of the Bahamian people. In fact, on two prior occasions the government spent thousands of dollars in tax payer money to send a delegation to China only to come back empty handed. While the resumption of these talks speak to the possibility of new developments on the Baha Mar front, the DNA is again concerned that these talks will end without resolution, without a clear way forward for the people of this country and on terms that may not be in the best long-term interest of The Bahamas," he said.

Mortimer noted that Christie has continued to express optimism about the future of the stalled property.

"(Christie) has consistently referred to the many interventions he has continued to make on behalf of the more than 2,000 Bahamians who were terminated in the wake of Baha Mar's collapse. Christie and members of his government have been silent on the role the government played in contributing to the Baha Mar breakdown. From name calling and verbal spats in the media, to the initiation of a winding up petition, this administration's handling of the Baha Mar matter has left much to be desired and begs the question: Can this administration be trusted to negotiate in the best interest of Bahamians?

"The DNA calls on the government to immediately update the public on the results of these most recent talks. Has an agreement been reached? If so what are the terms of the agreement and how will Bahamians benefit in the short, medium and long term. If not, what are the issues hindering a possible resolution?"

Stakes

Meanwhile, it is unclear exactly what the government's stake is in the affair. In September 2015, the government, using its position as landowner of some 400 acres strategically located within the project, moved to put Baha Mar in provisional liquidation, which placed the court in ultimate control of that aspect. That process has never been pushed all the way, and in fact, Baha Mar is still only in provisional liquidation.

Then, in October 2015, CEXIM Bank put the project in receivership, meaning that through its receiver managers, CEXIM and the court control the fate of the asset.

Christie is expected to address the matter in his budget speech tomorrow.

K. Quincy Parker, Guardian Business Editor

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