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Chinese firm hits back in hotel bankruptcy battle

A rendering of the Baha Mar resort scheduled to open next year. Photo: Sheila Donnelly & Associates

A rendering of the Baha Mar resort scheduled to open next year. Photo: Sheila Donnelly & AssociatesThe Chinese construction company building the unfinished US$3.5 billion Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas has accused the developer of mismanaging the project’s design and not securing adequate financing.
China Construction America (CCA) has been blamed for the delays that caused the Baha Mar project to file for bankruptcy protection late last month in a Delaware court.
But CCA said the developer of the project replaced the mega resort’s principal architect after construction began and had more than 1,300 change orders for construction contractors. Developer Baha Mar Ltd is run by Sarkis Izmirlian, the son of an Armenian billionaire.
Construction delays, funding squabbles, lagging inspections and faulty work at the Nassau resort have led to finger-pointing among Izmirlian, CCA and China’s export finance bank, which bankrolled most of the project with a US$2.45 billion loan.
Baha Mar Ltd called CCA’s statement an ?attempt at damage control? and declined further comment, according to a spokeswoman for the developer, as reported by Reuters.