The Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) yesterday flatly rejected the number of Bahamian workers Prime Minister Perry Christie claimed work at The Pointe. In fact, BCA President Leonard Sands says Christie's estimate of "over 500" is "ridiculous."

At the groundbreaking of the parking garage on Tuesday, Christie boasted that the structure's developer has injected over $10 million in The Bahamas' economy during the construction of the parking garage and has employed over 500 Bahamians, who represent the majority of workers on the project during the construction phase. He also said over 100 subcontractors, suppliers and service companies were engaged during the various stages of the parking garage's development.

An irate Sands lashed out on Wednesday.

"That's ridiculous," he said. "We cannot agree on that number and would find it difficult to say to our membership that we can support that claim that the Prime Minister has made."

Sands assured Guardian Business that his information coming out of daily presence at the structure is that there were maybe 20 Bahamians at work on the property each day.

"I demand that he produce the evidence to support his claim," he said.

What's in a name
Speaking at the unveiling of a plaque signifying completion of the parking garage, Christie fuelled what appears to be the growing belief in The Bahamas that all Chinese companies are the same by asserting that the garage is a China Construction America (CCA) project.

In October 2015, the Department of Physical Planning in the Ministry of Works and Urban Development disclosed that it was reviewing the site plan presented by Neworld One Bay Street Ltd. for the construction of a "multi-storey parking garage" on the 6.1 acre tract of land immediately west of the British Colonial Hilton on Marlborough Street.

To be clear, the structure was part of the redevelopment of the site by Neworld One Bay Street Ltd., which was incorporated by McKinney Bancroft and Hughes Corporate Services on October 20, 2014. Neworld One  is owned by China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCECC), which also owns China Construction America (CCA).

It is not clear from the paperwork what role CCA has in the ownership of the garage building. The paperwork says that CCA -- which owns the British Colonial Hilton hotel, and is developing The Pointe Resort and an office building next to the BCH -- is simply a company also owned by the company that owns the garage. Even if Neworld One Bay Street Ltd. hired CCA to construct the garage, the ownership of the structure does not automatically transfer to CCA.

In corporate structures, who owns what asset is often critically important, as the doings at the bankrupt Baha Mar megaresort have demonstrated.

Changes
The structure now features seven storeys and 900 parking spaces. That is substantially different than the initial parameters.

Guardian Business' inspection of the plans in October 2015 revealed that what the department describes in the notice as a "multi-storey parking garage" was in fact an 11-level structure referred to as "The Pointe Parking, Office and Retail Building".

The Pointe project team is headed by China Construction America (CCA) -- the owner -- and includes Miami-based ADD Inc., now with Stantec as design consultant, Island Site Developments as civil works contractor, Kevin Sweeting and Associates as architect of record and Turell, Hall and Associates out of Naples, Florida, for marina design.

K. Quincy Parker, Guardian Business Editor

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