With 17 months until opening, Baha Mar has spent “just under 50 percent” of the proceeds of its $2.6 billion Chinese-financed loan to date, and has procured 90 per cent of all goods and materials needed to complete the $3.5 billion project, according to Senior Vice President of Administration and External Relations Robert Sands.
Involvement of Chinese workers in the construction of Baha Mar has “trended around 50 percent below” initial projections, while targets for Bahamian participation have been met, Guardian Business can confirm.
To date, of the $400 million in contracts promised to Bahamian firms, $240 million has been awarded, and the remaining $160 million remains “under negotiation”.
Much of this remaining work set to go to Bahamian contractors will revolve around the “core” of the resort, including landscaping and hardscaping, such as parking lots, exterior works, the beach and pools.
Sands provided these updates in an interview with Guardian Business in which he spoke of the “tremendous progress” made to date on the mega resort.
All of the hotels except the Rosewood have been completed structurally, with just one floor of the Rosewood left to go before “topping off” in mid-August.
On a site tour of the resort, Alex Haley, assistant project coordinator, told Guardian Business that the resort is now entering the “fit out” stage.
