The government yesterday slammed original Baha Mar Developer Sarkis Izmirlian and BMD Holdings after he suggested that the multi-billion dollar resort is not as promising as the government is making it seem.
In a press release yesterday, the government called Mr. Izmirlian’s claims inaccurate and unsubstantiated; adding that it represents a persistent and unpatriotic attempt by “the failed project developer to mislead Bahamians.
“It is to detract from the tremendous accomplishments made by the stakeholders along with Government in turning the project around, and to conceal the fact that BMD failed and then failed to recover from failure,” the statement read.
“BMD’s statement is misleading in many places and factually inaccurate in others,” the statement continued.
In a recent statement, BMD Holdings suggested that the government was deceptive in regards to the resort’s opening date.
“Firstly, the suggestion that there has been misinformation or misleading information by government with respect to the progress made at Baha Mar or with respect to any opening dates is plainly false,” the government said.
“The announcement of a soft opening date in April 2017 for several of the major components of the hotel (the Casino, Casino hotel, Convention Centre and golf course) remains unchanged. As would be public knowledge, both the Convention Centre and the golf course have been made operational on an intermittent basis for the hosting of specific events,” it added.
“The fact that independent operators of other parts of the resort have suggested deferred or staggered opening dates with respect to their hotel brands does not in any way detract from the extraordinary effort and progress that has been made toward the completion of construction and opening of the resort, nor does its cast any doubt on the target date for the soft opening of other parts of the resort,” the statement continued.
The government went on to point out that BMD’s claims cannot be substantiated as the government has evidently acted in the best interest of the company.
“The Baha Mar Resort is being completed at pace under the direction of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, a world class hotel and casino operator; former Bahamian employees of Baha Mar have received their severance payments in full; Bahamian creditors have shared in the $100m cash fund that was established in August last year to settle those creditors’ claims. More than 90 percent of all Bahamian creditors have been paid in full, with the balance having received (or having been entitled to receive) significant compensation in respect of their claims,” the statement read.
As Baha Mar is currently recruiting 1,500 individuals, it is anticipated that thousands more will be created in the upcoming months.
Meanwhile, the government charged that Mr. Izmirlian lost all credibility when he chose to file for bankruptcy in a foreign court.
“The instigation of Chapter 11 proceedings meant thousands of job losses, the shuttering of the resort, and the prospect of years and years of litigation between the various parties in the United States. The Government was never going to allow this to happen, and took swift and decisive action to bring the parties back to The Bahamas,” it said.
BMD Holdings has suggested that Baha Mar would have opened if the government had not “interfered” in the Chapter 11 process.
However the government has constantly refuted this claim.
“Consequently, BMD had no evidence and still today, has no evidence to suggest that Baha Mar would have opened sooner, had the Chapter 11 plan been left to continue over 1,000 miles away in Delaware, and with contested legal proceedings being pursued against CCA in England,” the government charged.
“Their failure and missteps slowed the project down, but thankfully, Baha Mar is now in safe hands. The government has worked tirelessly with all of Baha Mar’s key stakeholders to ensure that it will be a success for The Bahamas and its people. The Government looks forward to the opening of the resort in April,” it added.
