Baha Mar restructuring plan gives finger to Chinese contractor

The US judge overseeing the bankruptcy of the troubled Baha Mar Casino & Hotel in the Bahamas has told the squabbling parties to keep talking.

On Wednesday, Baha Mar Ltd, the developer of the stalled $3.5b resort project, filed a restructuring plan with the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The plan, which is intended to restart work on the nearly finished project, suggests voiding Baha Mar Ltd’s deal with its principal contractor China Construction America (CCA) as well as the $72m or so in claims CCA has against the developer.

Baha Mar Ltd filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June, citing debts of over $1b. The project has been fraught with delays and cockups since the 2008 global financial crisis and CCA stopped work on the project earlier this year because it said Baha Mar Ltd wasn’t paying its bills. In retaliation, Baha Mar sued CCA for allegedly failing to meet specified timelines.

The restructuring proposal promises that all of CCA’s Bahamian subcontractors will eventually be paid “in the ordinary course of business.” This is intended to win back the support of the Bahamian government, which has filed papers to take control of the project due to the number of local jobs at stake. The government is also listed among Baha Mar Ltd’s creditors as being owed a total of $58.8m.