How A Missed Opening Changed Everything

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Baha Mar dream began back in 2005 when developer Sarkis Izmirlian committed his fortune to a mega resort he believed would transform The Bahamas.

However, the years that followed were anything but smooth.


The global housing and financial crisis of 2008 hit hard, governments changed at home, and the project spent years fighting to lock down reliable financing and stay on track.

The story starts with a deal and the Perry Christie-led government in 2005, but that deal never materialized by the time his first term ended in 2007.

That’s when Hubert Ingraham returned to office for his third term.

The original deal now incomplete, a collapsed partnership with Harrah’s Entertainment, and a project with no confirmed financing was the reality the Ingraham-led government now faced.

Upon taking office, his administration scanned the initial agreement worth $1 billion, and reviewed a second proposal that would expand the project to $2.6 billion.

Following concerns about the developer’s capacity to finance the project, and a nearly 2-year stall, Baha Mar was finally revived with the Ingraham administration approving a restructured deal that helped clear the way for China EXIM bank financing in 2010, all leading to a new groundbreaking in early 2011.

By 2012, Ingraham’s work to get the project moving was done, and Christie had been re-elected.

Baha Mar was still pushing through delays, funding challenges, and construction hurdles.

Perry Christie – Former Prime Minister (February 21st, 2013)

“The country is not divided when it comes to a positive development that will have an enduring impact on the lives of the people of our country.”

By February 2013, almost a year into Christie’s second term, optimism was finally returning.

Sarkis Izmirlian – Owner, BML Properties (February 21st, 2013)

“Fast forward two years and here we are, celebrating another important milestone, the topping out of the Baha Mar casino and hotel, the centrepiece of Baha Mar and our largest tower.“

“Baha Mar has been kept on time and on budget, through the diligent work of China State Construction, their team, and nearly 400 locally owned firms, who have put almost 2,000 Bahamians to work already.”

The topping-off ceremony marked a major milestone, a public sign of the project was nearing completion, but everything changed on March 27th, 2015 – the highly promoted opening day.

Hundreds of guests had already booked rooms, some travelled to Nassau specifically for the grand opening, but when they arrived the resort was still a construction site.


Key executives from the general contractor, China Construction America (CCA), were reportedly not even in the country, while critical work still wasn’t finished.

The missed opening ignited public outrage, frustrated employees, angry guests, and a national embarrassment.


In the middle of it all, a growing war of words between the Christie administration and Izmirlian.

Government accused Izmirlian of mismanagement, with then Prime Minister Christie at one point questioning his mental health, but Izmirlian said his project was being undermined by CCA and Chinese financing partners.

The relationship fractured, and the fallout was enormous.

On June 29th 2015, everything collapsed.

Former Employee, Baha Mar

“We were not prepared, we didn’t see this at all, they didn’t even tell us this earlier today. We just saw the email just now, we saw the letter just now, they said everyone must go home.”

“I’m not sure when, but I do know that it’s going to open.”

In the months that followed, government stepped in, continuing to pay Baha Mar staff even though the resort was closed – An attempt to protect families and prevent a deeper economic fallout.

Despite this, the impasse continued.

Government fought the U.S. bankruptcy, and by September 2015, the case was dismissed.

The Bahamian Supreme Court later appointed liquidators, stripping control from Izmirlian.

Then, months later, another blow to workers.

In October 2015, after nearly four months in limbo, the court-appointed liquidators issued mass termination letters to the remaining Baha Mar staff.

It marked the second wave of layoffs, and the end of hope for hundreds still waiting to return to work.

Allyson Maynard-Gibson – Former Attorney General (October 22nd, 2015)

“Before the liquidation, the government saw to it that the employees were retained, that is the government’s position still. The prime minister has been quite firm.”

The project was soon sold out of liquidation, first to Perfect Luck Holdings, a special-purpose entity backed by CEXIM bank, and later that same year to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), a global Hong Kong-based investment group that owns and operates Baha Mar today.

Perry Christie – Former Prime Minister (March 21st, 2017)

“Today, Baha Mar is being transferred to a world-class company, one that successfully manages prestigious hotels across the world, including three successful resorts in the Caribbean”

After nearly two years in the dark, Baha Mar finally opened its doors under its new ownership on April 21st, 2017.

A dream between Christie and Izmirlian from 2005, that only Christie would finally get to see come to fruition.

Perry Christie – Former Prime Minister

“Baha Mar’s opening is not a mirage.”

Grand Hyatt was the first to welcome guests, followed by phased openings of the casino, SLS, and Rosewood.

As the resort opened without its original developer, Christie had already set his sights on a legal fight.

In 2017, he sued CCA in New York, accusing the contractor of intentional delays, hidden defects, and sabotage.

Seven years later in October 2024, after an 11-day trial, a New York judge agreed, awarding more than $1.6 billion dollars in damages.

Between October and December 2024, CCA appealed, lost and filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the U.S., but after months of negotiation, finally a resolution.

On December 2nd, 2025, nearly 10 years later, that resolution was made official by a U.S. Bankruptcy court.

Under the agreement, BML drops all claims in the U.S. and The Bahamas. CCA admits no liability, and the company retains ownership of the British Colonial and Margaritaville Beach Resort, which it says will continue to benefit Bahamians.

CCA said in a statement it is “pleased” with the decision, calling the settlement an opportunity to focus on “world-class construction projects and hospitality operations.”

Izmirlian, who has fought for this since 2005, calls the resolution “long-awaited,” thanking Bahamians for their support.

A comprehensive settlement, formally closing a decade-long war that began with a vision in 2005.

It’s a saga that’s been marked by global crisis, politics, high hopes, bitter disputes, a reopening without its original developer, and thousands of lives affected, but it now finally has its closing chapter.