Bahamian companies have been awarded more than $110 million in contracts since Baha Mar broke ground just over one year ago - and more work is on the way.
Local labor will be a "major focus" during the construction of the 200,000-square-foot convention center, according to Tiger Wu, vice president of China Construction America.
The giant complex, seen as a corporate hive in the rising $2.6 billion development, will include three ballrooms, one which can be converted into a 2,000-seat entertainment venue. The convention center will be perched on an elevated superstructure beside the 1,000-room casino hotel.
"I think we are mostly focused on local resources getting involved in the construction of the convention center," Wu told this newspaper. "We have divided it into different packages and we're in the process of going through pre-qualifications. The first two packages will be the structural steel and concrete foundation. For the convention center, local labor will be a major focus."
The announcement is seen as a significant development for Bahamian companies, many of which have already seen a boost to the bottom line since Baha Mar began construction in February 2011.
Executives from the resort held a "piling ceremony" yesterday morning with local labor clearly on display. Piling, an essential technique when establishing hotel foundations more than 35 feet into the ground, has been going on since last May.
With close to 6,000 piles in the books, there is enough steel wiring in the ground at Cable Beach to stretch all the way to Florida, according to construction crews.
James Mosko, the head of Bahamas Marine Construction Company Limited, was on hand as one of the last piles were placed.
His company has worked hand-in-hand with a French company based in Columbia, which brought in specialized equipment for the process. Describing the work as "a learning process" and "a great address", Mosko told Guardian Business that Bahamas Marine has next been contracted to play a leading role in the beach restoration for Baha Mar.
Meanwhile, Chinese workers continue to build the hotels upward, precariously yet confidently circulating through scaffolding high in the sky beneath seven cranes.
"I think we have made lots of progress over the last month," Wu explained. "On the superstructure for the casino hotel, we are just about to hit level four. That is the most difficult part of the building, construction wise. They have been working pretty much seven days per week and working long hours to keep up with the progress."
Crews are focused on reaching an essential milestone embedded in the heads of agreement, namely 100 feet of elevation on the superstructure by July 1. If they are on level four now, Wu speculated that 100 feet would bring them up to level nine.
Thousands of Chinese workers are expected to join the operation by the summer and take up residence in the extensive Man Camp located right on-site. Wu told Guardian Business that recruiting the substantial labor pool has been "a process".
"These laborers are in China and they have to pass a skills test before we bring them out here," he said. "They have to get their passport, a medical examination and work permit, and then we have to organize the trip. It's a process."
Tom Dunlap, executive vice president of development and construction, told Guardian Business that Baha Mar is now 12 months into construction, with another 33 still to go.
Baha Mar includes four new hotels, including the Morgan's, Rosewood, Grand Hyatt and casino hotel. The project has 3,000 feet of beachfront, an eco-water park, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course and the 200,000 square-foot convention center.
The development also absorbs the existing Sheraton and Wyndham hotel properties, bringing the total of number of rooms up to more than 2,200.
Dunlap and Wu agreed that it is the largest resort project in the world that is now under construction.

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