US court awards Bahamas firm US$1.6 billion in case against China Construction America

New York judge’s ruling turned on whether losses in 1,000-acre tourism project stemmed from excessive debt or construction delays

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CCA is an American subsidiary of state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation, the mainland’s largest construction group. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:20am, 22 Oct 2024Updated: 7:07pm, 22 Oct 2024

A New York court has awarded a Bahamas-based property-management company US$1.6 billion against China Construction America (CCA) in a long-running legal dispute over a massive tourism project in the former British colony, according to a decision released on Monday.

The case won by BML Properties Ltd involved a disagreement over Baha Mar, a 1,000-acre (404.7 hectare) project that included three hotels totalling some 2,200 rooms, more than 280 private residences, a 9,300-square-metre (100,104-square-foot) casino and a golf course designed by famed golfer Jack Nicklaus.

The project was ultimately placed in bankruptcy and later sold to its current owner, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, a Hong Kong conglomerate.

A central question in the trial overseen by New York Supreme Court Justice Andrew Borrok was whether BML’s US$1.5 billion losses resulted from its excessive debt or from construction delays.

A screenshot from the Baha Mar website. The project included three hotels totalling some 2,200 rooms and more than 280 private residences.

The Bahamas developer “more than met” its burden of proof that construction delays were to blame, the court ruled, with company representatives committing “at least four instances of fraud”.