Mega-Resort Plans Include 4,000 Chinese Workers; GCOB "Wary"

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