NASSAU, BAHAMAS-The Izmirlian family, with heavy backing from China, has started work to build a $3 billion, 1,000-acre resort here at Cable Beach. The project, when finished in 2014, is expected to include a large casino and convention center, six hotels with 3,800 rooms, a golf course, 50,000 square feet of retail and 350 luxury homes and timeshares.
Don Robinson, president of Baha Mar Development Co., tells GlobeSt.com that the Bahamanian government sought out the locally-based Izmirlian family, which trades in commodities, investments and other businesses. Sarkis Izmirlian formed the development firm and brought in as investors the Export-Import Bank of China and the China State Construction and Engineering Corp., both which are providing most of the funding for the project.
The Bahamas have been looking to compete with other Caribbean islands which have gained in popularity in recent years, Robinson says. “I think it was in part with Atlantis opening up, they wanted to keep going to compete,” he says. “The Caribbean has suffered through the down global economy, but this will take three-four years to build, and the hope is there will be pent-up demand by then.”
The first phase will be only on 400 acres, with more development possible, in phases, on the remaining 600 acres, Robinson says. There are two hotels adjacent to the property, the Sheraton and the Wyndham. Those will stay, while the new hotels will include Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, Morgans Hotel Group and Hyatt Hotels Corp. The casino hotel, not yet branded, will include a 100,000-square-foot gaming floor, he says. The first 400 acres will be complete by 2014, Robinson says.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.