Baha Mar chief thanks govt for support

Tue, Jun 27th 2017, 09:41 AM

Following a call for the government to stop the completion of the sale of Baha Mar by the project's former developer Sarkis Izmirlian, Baha Mar President Graeme Davis yesterday assured that he is committed to the success of Baha Mar and the Bahamian people, as he thanked the government for its support concerning the completion of the $3.5 billion resort.
"Baha Mar and its parent company, CTFE (Chow Tai Fook Enterprises), are extremely pleased with the government's commitment to fully support our continued efforts in the completion and successful operations for the future of Baha Mar, and realize the full measure of its economic benefits to be released for the Bahamian people", Davis said in a statement.
"The Cheng family and CTFE are recognized throughout the world as visionary business leaders and we are extremely excited about the next phases for Baha Mar's continued growth.
"Baha Mar has already distinguished itself internationally in recognized publications and as we continue to expand our offerings, we know that our reputation for exceptional experiences will continue to grow."
In the Senate on Friday, Attorney General Carl Bethel confirmed that it is not the government's intention to undo the deal with Chow Tai Fook Enterprises.
"Even though we may disapprove of the way certain legal and other matters were handled in respect of the Baha Mar matter, as a responsible government, we will do everything to facilitate the completion, sale and opening of the resort, so that the full measure of its potential economic benefits can be realized for the Bahamian people," he said.
On Sunday, Izmirlian called on the Minnis administration to place a moratorium on the completion of any sale of the Cable Beach project, and other related transactions, so that the government and the public can thoroughly "assess the extent of the toxicity of these arrangements to our country and how the best interests of Bahamians can be met".
The statement came five days after Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis tabled the unsealed heads of terms in the House of Assembly.
The government entered that agreement with China EXIM Bank and China Construction America (CCA) last August to get the project completed and open.
The deal was previously sealed by the Supreme Court.
Under the agreement, the Christie administration agreed to issue up to 1,200 work permits to CCA to complete the resort.
The government also agreed to waive stamp duty and value-added tax (VAT) on the transfer of assets from the Baha Mar Ltd. (BML) group of companies to Perfect Luck Assets Limited to facilitate the sale.
Izmirlian contended that the heads of terms was unfair to him.
In Davis' statement yesterday, he made no mention of Izmirlian's comments, but he said the resort is expected to create over 7,000 jobs for Bahamians.
"This is a very exciting time for both Baha Mar and The Bahamas as our destination resort continues to hire and train Bahamians for its hotels, existing casino, recreation and restaurant offerings, and in preparation for the opening of the SLS and Rosewood," he said.
"We are rapidly adding to our complement of more than 2,000 Bahamian employees and are on track to meet our goal of employing more than 5,000 associates at the completion of the phased opening in 2018."
Davis added, "Once we reach our stabilized business levels and are fully operational, we anticipate creating over 7,500 direct jobs for Bahamians, which will contribute more than $65 million in direct taxation annually and over $100 million annually in combined direct, indirect and induced annual tax revenues to The Bahamas.
"We are committed to the success of Baha Mar and the Bahamian people."
In opposition, Minnis had pledged to execute a "real sale" of Baha Mar and said under a Minnis administration only Bahamians would be allowed to complete the project.
He has not addressed these specific points in recent times.

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