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Baha Mar to employ 7,500 - 2010/04/29 14:26
The Majority of the workers will be Chinese, but they still need 2,500 Bahamians.
Published On:Thursday, April 29, 2010
By NOELLE NICOLLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
nnicolls@tribunemedia.net
INVESTORS in the Baha Mar project on Cable Beach have submitted applications for almost 5,000 foreign workers, an official at the Chinese Embassy told The Tribune exclusively yesterday.
Amid speculation that thousands of Chinese labourers are expected in the Bahamas for the newly-sealed Baha Mar investment deal, Jian Tan, chief of the commercial section at the Chinese Embassy in Nassau, said investors have submitted their plans to the Bahamian and Chinese governments.
The plan includes having a peak of 4,920 workers operating on the construction project for a period of 12 months. The construction company plans to create a housing village within the construction site to house the workers.
The peak period for construction is between month 24 and month 36 of the project, and at that time there also will be in more than 2,500 Bahamian construction workers.
Total employment at the peak of the project will be close to 7,500 both foreign and Bahamian workers.
The project is waiting the approval of both governments.
No visa applications have been filed at the Bahamian Embassy in Beijing as yet, according to Elma Campbell, the Bahamian Ambassador to China.
Mr Tan said workers with specialised skills are expected from countries other than China, and permits will apply to workers needed at different stages over the course of the resort's construction. The project is scheduled for completion in late 2013.
But according to Chinese government officials there is no need for concern over the large immigrant work force, as the Chinese workers in the Bahamas are highly regulated by the Bahamas government and the People's Republic of China.
"This project is very large. It is one of the largest loan projects all over the world, especially at this cold time under the crisis conditions. The China State Construction Engineering Corporation has already provided their plans to the competent authorities. They are just waiting for their plans to be approved. As they get the approvals as well as the approvals from the Bahamian government they will start," said Mr Tan.
Late last month, Baha Mar secured $2.5 billion in financing from the Export-Import Bank of China and a contract with new minority partner, China State Construction Engineering Corporation, also serving as the project's general contractor.
The intake of Chinese workers on the Baha Mar investment project is considerably higher than the pool of workers being contracted for the National Stadium development project, based on the scale of the investment and the development time period.
Less than 300 permits were requested for workers on the stadium project, including managers, technicians and common workers, said Mr Tan. Forty per cent of the workers have already returned to China, including the 45 who worked on the piling foundations, and some inspectors. The peak volume of workers - 170 - is currently being employed on the project.
Mr Tan said the Bahamian entity engaging the Chinese company had to submit a letter of invitation on behalf of each worker to the Chinese government and apply for a work permit from the Bahamas government.
The Chinese entity also had to apply for travel visas at the Bahamas embassy in China. During this process, police records from Chinese authorities were produced for each worker to prove they had no criminal record.
"They work hard on the stadium construction site. Their work permit is cancelled when they leave. They only get a one-time entry visa into the Bahamas, so they can't come back to the Bahamas again unless they get a new work permit and visa. I think we do not need to worry about this because they are totally under the control of two governments who obey very strict procedures for immigrants," said Mr Tan.
The same process is expected to apply for workers on the Baha Mar project, and the Abaco agricultural investment project, if it materializes.
Chinese investors visited Abaco at least twice over the past year, prospecting for a planned investment in vegetable, fruit and livestock production, and a possible processing plant.
Abaconians have raised questions about the project, in part, expressing concern over a feared influx of Chinese workers. Bahamas government officials and Chinese government officials have called the criticism premature, because no official plans have been submitted for review.
Mr Tan said Bahamians should also not worry because Chinese workers find it difficult to live in the Bahamas, based on the language barrier, the culinary differences, and the high cost of living.
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