The developer of a US$3.5-billion hotel-and-casino project under construction in The Bahamas — touted as the most expensive project ever undertaken in that country — announced on Monday that it has filed in a Delaware court for US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The developers are also suing the Chinese construction company for US$192 million.

The property known as Baha Mar had been the flagship of the Bahamian Government on which it had seemingly pinned part of its hopes for re-election with plans to boost the economy with 5,000 jobs. Baha Mar involves the construction 2,200 rooms, 300 private homes, a casino covering two acres, 40 restaurants and an 18-hole golf course on a 1,000-acre site.

The original opening date was December last year but nobody was worried by the delay because it is not unusual for a project of that magnitude and complexity to experience delays and cost overruns. The next missed opening date was March 27, 2015 but this was cancelled although some 2,000 persons had been hired and a marketing campaign mounted. Now the project which is reputed to be 90 per cent completed has been shut down, leaving the developer with a monthly wage bill of US$7.5 million, maintenance costs and debts to Bahamian businesses.

Baha Mar’s lead developer and chief executive is Mr Sarkis Izmirlian who lives in Nassau’s Lyford Cay. He has accused the China Construction America, a subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering of missed deadlines and a failure to meet agreed standards. The contractor and the main financier, the Export-Import Bank of China, rejected this accusation and are claiming US$344 million for work done since February.

Mr Izmirlian has applied in the US courts for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a ruling that awards him the status of “debtor in possession” which subjects the business to supervision by the court, protects it from its creditors but allows it to borrow as part of a restructuring plan. The court in Delaware agreed US$30 million borrowing to meet immediate costs but this is pending approval by the courts in The Bahamas.

If this is not resolved in a way that allows the project to be finished quickly and open for business it will be catastrophic for the economy of The Bahamas and some analysts have said it could weaken support for the Perry Christie Government. We hope that the line from John Milton’s Paradise Lost “Never can true reconcilement grow where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep…” is not going to come true in The Bahamas.

The local tourist sector and the country’s reputation could also suffer serious reputational damage. It could also impair the good relations between the Governments of the People’s Republic of China and The Bahamas.

The Baha Mar debacle is yet another example of how difficult it can be to realise mega projects, examples of which we are not short in Jamaica.