VZCZCXYZ0036
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBH #0723/01 3242052
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 202052Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY NASSAU
TO EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0049
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING IMMEDIATE 0001

S E C R E T NASSAU 000723 
 
SIPDIS 
SIPDIS 
AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PASS TO AMEMBASSY GRENADA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/20 
TAGS: ECON EINT EINV EAID ELAB ETRD BF
SUBJECT: Mega-Resort Plans Include 4,000 Chinese Workers; GCOB "Wary" 
 
REF: NASSAU 560; NASSAU 526; NASSAU 180; NASSAU 493; NASSAU 041 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Timothy Zuniga Brown, Deputy Chief of Mission; REASON: 
1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1.  (S)  SUMMARY:  Baha Mar Corporation executives described plans 
to begin construction on a USD 2.7 billion mega-resort and casino 
in Nassau starting January 2010.  The resort would add three 
additional hotels to the Cable Beach area, as well as several other 
high-end amenities to rival another mega-resort, Atlantis.  Two 
independent sources confirmed that the project would involve a work 
camp for up to 4,000 Chinese workers located only 200 yards away 
from the Chief of Mission Residence.  A source close to PM Ingraham 
indicated that talks between the Chinese and GCOB have stalled due 
to disagreements over the number of Chinese workers that would be 
allowed on the island.   Post is closely monitoring for an increase 
in illegal migration of Chinese from The Bahamas to the United 
States.  END SUMMARY 
 
 
 
Las Vegas With Calypso 
 
 
 
¶2.  (C)  PolCouns and EconOff met with Robert "Sandy" Sands, 
President of Baha Mar Corporation, to discuss plans to build a 
Chinese-funded mega resort and casino in the Cable Beach area of 
Nassau.  Sands said that construction on the perimeter road and 
commercial village would begin January 2010, with construction in 
full swing by July.  The USD 2.7 billion from the Chinese ExIm Bank 
would fund construction of three additional hotels - the Westin, W 
Hotel and the St. Regis -  a marina, an entertainment village, an 
indoor concert hall, convention center, high-end shopping mall and 
"one or two unique attractions."  In response to PolCouns inquiry 
as to whether the company would seek a U.S. Casino operator, Sands 
noted that Baha Mar was likely to choose a U.S. company due to the 
desire to partner with a casino brand "with worldwide recognition 
and reputation, as well as a good financial track record."  Sands 
noted that the focus of the resort had shifted away from the 
Casino.  He noted that gambling is no longer the primary reason 
tourists come to The Bahamas, due to current economic conditions 
and the proliferation of gaming in the United States.  Baha Mar, he 
said, would be a family friendly, but adult-oriented, and described 
the resort as "Las Vegas with calypso." 
 
 
 
The New View from the CMR: 4,000 Chinese Laborers 
 
 
 
¶3.  (S)  A representative from a temporary housing and modular unit 
construction company, contacted the Embassy's commercial section 
requesting lists of food and utility vendors in the country that 
could support a large work camp in The Bahamas.  The representative 
said Chinese State Construction Corporation (CSCC) requested a cost 
estimate to build and manage temporary housing facilities for 4,000 
workers, "likely of Chinese nationality."  Sands confirmed the 
numbers of Chinese workers expected to remain in Nassau and noted 
that the project would provide 8,000 full time jobs for "multiple 
nationalities," including Bahamians.  "It's a major labor-intensive 
project," Sands said. "The economic situation has created 
opportunities for us, but we just don't have the man power."  Both 
the representative and Sands confirmed the camp would be built on 
what is now the exclusive Cable Beach Golf Course located less than 
200 yards from the CMR property.  The workers are expected to 
arrive on or before July 1, 2010 and will remain in Nassau for four 
years while construction of the Baha Mar Resort is underway. 
 
 
 
But Will the GCOB Agree? 
 
 
 
¶4.  (S)  Former president of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and 
high-profile business owner, Dionisio D'Aguilar, told EconOff that 
negotiations between the GCOB, China and Baha Mar executives are 
currently stalled over disagreements about the actual numbers of 
foreign workers the GCOB will allow into the country.  D'Aguilar 
said that PM Ingraham is very "wary" of the project due to the 
 
foreign labor requirement and has asked that the Chinese "send only 
1,000 - 2,000 workers."  Sands did not confirm the dispute, but was 
quick to point out that the GCOB had not "signed off" on any set 
numbers of workers.  Sands did emphasize that Baha Mar and the GCOB 
were "concerned with legitimacy of individual [workers], or those 
that would come to The Bahamas solely to illegally migrate to the 
United States.  He noted that the workers would be "highly 
regulated, close to the site in a fully contained camp," though the 
men "will be let out occasionally."  Sands indicated that they were 
looking into biometric identifications to help manage the 
workforce. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (S)  COMMENT:  Baha Mar executives and the GCOB are clearly 
cognizant of the negative message they will send to tourists, as 
well as the Bahamian public by maintaining a 4,000-strong Chinese 
laborer camp in a highly visible and affluent section of town. 
Still, the GCOB believes that the completion of this massive 
project is a vital component of its long-term plan to provide 
thousands of new jobs for Bahamians.  Regardless of whatever number 
of workers the parties agree upon, the continuous arrival of 
thousands of low-wage Chinese workers in The Bahamas will likely 
lead to a significant increase in illegal migration of Chinese from 
The Bahamas to the United States.  The GCOB does not have the 
institutional capacity to effectively monitor the movements of the 
Chinese workers nor effectively detect inauthentic travel 
documents. 
ZUNIGA-BROWN