Unfinished resort leaves Bahamas in the lurch

Nassau, Bahamas

TREI Bethel had been looking for work in the Bahamas for about a year when he finally got a break: a coveted spot in a programme that trained young Bahamians to work at Baha Mar, a US$3.5 billion mega-resort nearing completion on Nassau's white-sand Cable Beach.

There, he said, he learnt about fine wine and the choreography of five-star service. He saw the resort as a place of opportunity and stability in a difficult economy.

"They really put so much effort into the growth and development of us as young people," said Mr Bethel, now 20, who became a concierge at one of the resort's four hotels.

But last October, he lost his job along with 2,000 others, the casualties of a dispute between the resort's developer and his Chinese partners that led to bankruptcy court. The falling-out has left Baha Mar at a standstill, fenced off at t…