By Barry Williams, Guardian Staff Reporter

barry@nasguard.com

A deal has yet to be closed on the sale of the Crowne Plaza Golf Resort and Casino at the Royal Oasis, despite promises by World Investments Holdings (WIH) to seal the deal by the end of November.

The WIH group purchased the property, along with Caribbean Utility, for $40 million and signed a deal with Lehman Brothers, the financiers of the property, for the purchase this past August.

The government expressed zeal to have the Royal Oasis property sold to a steadfast investor after its closure in 2004 due to hurricanes, upset hundreds of workers and displaced a handful of time share owners of the resort.

Jethro Miller, attorney for WIH, told the Freeport News recently that the buyers were awaiting approvals from several organizations, including the Foreign Investment Board, the Central Bank and the Grand Bahama Port Authority.

Keith St. Clair, chairman of WIH, said the investors comprising the WIH board had already passed due diligence checks, as they were cleared by the police for having no criminal or bankruptcy charges.

To date, WIH has also completed the appraisal process, completed the initial property redevelopment master plan, and has secured estimates for the cost of renovation and construction of the resort, according to St. Clair.

Phase One of the redevelopment of the resort is expected to cost the investors an estimated $100 million, and is expected to take six to eight months to complete. WIH investors are also looking at May 2007 as a possible date for the completion of Phase One reconstruction.

The Freeport News also reported St. Clair as saying WIH has secured a bank that would be its senior debt lender, as well as an Intercontinental Hotel that would operate the main hotel.