Robert Myers

Sarkis Izmirlian said in a statement. According to the bankruptcy filing, Baha Mar Ltd sent teams to Beijing three times over the last two months in attempts to salvage an agreement. The bankruptcy filing represents the latest setback for China State Construction, which was banned from participating in World Bank-funded projects for six years starting in January 2009, after the multilateral agency found that China State Construction had colluded in rigging bids for a Philippines road project. According to the bankruptcy filing, China State Construction claims that Baha Mar Ltd has withheld $ 140 million in funds it is owed, an assertion Baha Mar disputes. The Export-Import Bank of China, according to the filing, has refused to release approximately $ 112 million remaining in the $ 2.45 billion loan China Export-Import Bank extended for the project. The Bahamas, a country of about 353,000 people, has an economy heavily dependent on tourism, and Baha Mar Ltd was expected to create 5,000 new jobs when fully operational. The resort's projected annual payroll of $ 130 million would represent about 12 percent of the country's gross domestic product, the developer said in its court filing. It's an absolute disaster.