The $2.6 billion Baha Mar project is 25 percent complete, according to Vice President of China State Construction Tiger Wu, who said yesterday the 850 construction workers currently on-site have a herculean task ahead of them if they are to meet the 2014 completion deadline.
However, Wu said as the project goes along he expects more expatriate workers to come in to assist.
"The workers are coming in on a regular basis based on the needs of the project," Wu told reporters shortly after he took Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes and his wife Lady Joan Foulkes on a tour of the construction site.
"So they come in every month based on the needs of the construction."
Of the 850 people working on the ground, most are Chinese workers. However, Wu could not provide an exact number of expatriate workers currently on the project.
As the tour progressed, more than 100 Chinese workers weaved through the site towards the man camp during their lunch break. Some had taped straw brims around their hard hats to help protect them from the sun.
Of the four hotels under construction the casino hotel has advanced the most.
"The casino hotel has reached the 12th floor. The convention hotel, the second four star hotel, it's on the fifth level right now," Wu said. "And the two five star hotels, the Rosewood and Morgan hotels, are under construction at this moment."
Work also continues on Cable Beach.
Beach access surrounding the Baha Mar property is blocked by boulders and a long sea wall to facilitate a beach restoration exercise.
Additionally, Wu said the two towers at the Wyndham Nassau Resort and Crystal Palace Casino will be demolished by the end of the year.
"So we have about a quarter of the project completed," he said. "But we still have lots of works. And I don't know if you have seen a rendering of the project and see that there are lots of external works, all the poles, landscaping work, bridges, and show lakes.
"And so it'll be quite an undertaking to get the whole project delivered. The completion date for the total project is December 2014. That's when we want the whole project complete."
Following the tour, Sir Arthur said he is pleased with the project and the level of work.
"This whole project represents a tremendous vote of confidence in our Bahamas, the Bahamian people, in the economy of The Bahamas and in our institutions and in our political stability," he said. "This is a huge vote of confidence. It is going to benefit us on many levels. As I said it underlines that confidence that the investing world has in The Bahamas.
"It will provide jobs for Bahamians in the future. It will provide good paying jobs and I think it's just quite wonderful."
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