The decision caused the people of the Bahamas two years (so far) of revenue from all those rooms and the casino and the jobs.

The actions of the government do seem slanted toward the Exim Bank of China, the CCA (which brought in Chinese construction workers), and away from the guy with the idea. An argument could be made that some sort of incentive was granted to the officials of the government, but of course no one has any proof of this.

Any other project in the Caribbean had better study how this was structured and do the opposite. For starters, I would insist on workers from closer than 12,000 miles away and hopefully from the home country. Regardless of their craft skill level, resident workers and managers could be influenced patriotically and with pride -- and the problem here is the hotel complex construction was not finished.

Not being a fan of either side in this insane dispute, instead missing a great resort that was supposed to be open a loooong time ago, to the benefit of The Bahamas, it seems clear from the outside:

The debtor / construction group, backed by the Bahamas seem to win every legal round. It's almost as if there was some other incentive for the government to rule in favor of the country that lent the money and supplied the construction workers.

And please, stop with the 97%! if it was that close to completion we wouldn't be having this discussion and local and US workers would be brought in to finish what the CCA folks do not have the skills to do.

Kick the lawyers out, give the project to someone who will finish and run it for the amazing people of the Bahamas. There will time enough later to decide how the Export Import Bank of China gets paid back for the more than $2 billion they claim to have invested. I know it will be a tiny blow to the global ambitions of a large country, but please, choke it down and let the Bahamas finish those big buildings before they become chunks of concrete of no use to anyone.

This is a country trying to steal the whole project, not a company within the country. They could care less if the Baha Mar fills up with amazing conventions, rich gamblers as the Riviera of the Caribbean.

The Chinese Construction Company of Americas put two provisions in the Chinese Exim bank contract to cough up the money; All Chinese workers; and the construction company could not be fired, even if they were late (more than a year) and did shoddy work.

I have no idea of the financial arrangements with the PM, but it seems reasonable that a country likes dealing with the leader of another country. Since the Bahamas seems to be standing solidly behind helping the Chinese government steal the share of the project they do not own, they have chosen sides.

Other Caribbean countries pay attention! If that hotel does not open on time neither you nor your citizens will benefit. You may want to get some guarantees of your own that if the government-supplied companies can't do the job from the other side of the planet, you have the right to take over. It may be their cash and their workers, but it is your land, sunshine and surf!

Hey Sarkis -- finally you get it. This whole stopping work thing was a way to get you out -- the CCA and the Exim bank of China now own your share. All it cost the Bahamas was two years of massive tourism, and the public two years of finding out about the New Riviera. (Provided the CCA is actually capable of finishing the thing!)

And you developers who are considering doing a project financed by the same folks and built by the same company may want to read that contract very carefully. Many countries do not have the strict business ethics rules of the US.

This won't be over and the project restarted until either of the developer or the China State Construction company is shoved out and the other get their shares.

Since the China EXIM bank put up the money, is now doing a downtown project without a developer, Mr. Izmirlian appears to be in trouble.

97% done -- no chance. A year late and no construction flaws that have to be fixed -- no chance.

Guessing that the "2,000 Bahamian jobs" are in service, not construction. In January, the BahaMar site was wall to wall with workers obviously imported from the CCA's home country, with no local talent evident.

Have no knowledge of payments or ownership given to government officials, but would be seductive -- riches for one's family if decisions go for those providing gifts. But ruin if the gifts were revealed.

It's been a year since the planned opening. Unmaintained buildings decay quickly to "tear it down and start again" mode.

No chance! The Chinese government will fight back with every political and financial tool at its disposal. There is a concerted effort to gain a foothold in this hemisphere, and a couple of billion dollar project is just a part of it.

I sure wish CCA had relied on local craftsmen from the Islands or from the big country to the West rather than flying in whole villages from China, but cranking up those efforts from scratch will be difficult. I wish that CCA had reacted sooner and with less ego to correct the obvious flaws in its plan.

But Godspeed! If the BahaMar can achieve its dream of being a counterpoint to the spectacular Atlantis, it will help the Bahamas as a destination.

The government of the Bahamas isn't the only one taking a hit here.

Even if it is Chinese money behind the venture, even if they "favor" the local politicians, who is going to take a chance of the same finger pointing, petulant blame of a construction company dumb enough to not use local talent?

Flying in gazillions of workers from the homeland might make the CCA management look good back home, but it obviously does not get a project the size and quality of Baha Mar built and accepting guests, conventions, and gamblers.

Wait, "not my fault" -- yeah it is -- the job was to get a construction project done! On time.