The Nassau Guardian (Barbados) reports on the controversy surrounding China’s gift of $7.3 million to build a national stadium, and the impacts that such a gift could have on the local economy and job market:
The Caribbean debate on the economic impact of Chinese construction projects has landed in The Bahamas, with the head of the local contractors’ association responding to warnings from regional counterparts.
“We will have to be very cognizant with regards to letting any international firms come here and dominate our industry, whether that’s finance, tourism or construction,” BCA President Stephen Wrinkle told Guardian Business yesterday. “With regards to the stadium, it’s a gift but at the end of the day the economic impact for the construction industry will be minimal.”… It’s a proposal being put forth in many Caribbean nations, now facing similar issues stemming from Chinese gifts of construction projects. Many contractors in those countries see it as an invasion of cheap Chinese labor that contributes to job losses long after that free infrastructure in built. In fact, they charge the Chinese firms have used the projects as a launching pad to dominate their respective sectors and are cautioning other regional contractors to lobby for complete transparency in the awarding of government contracts.
It’s an issue heating up here as construction on the long-awaited national stadium gets underway, with around 60 Chinese workers expected. They are jobs being created at a time when the national unemployment rate has soared into the high teens, and the construction sector largely idle.
See also the website of the Embassy of the PRC in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas for a brief history of Sino-Bahamian relations.
