* Baha Mar project expected to add 11,000 jobs

* Project was in doubt after Harrah's pulled out in 2008

* Tourism is a key component of the Bahamas' economy

By Neil Hartnell

NASSAU (Reuters) - China has agreed to let two
state-owned agencies finance a stalled $2.6 billion Bahamian
resort project that the developer said would provide the
biggest job stimulus the Bahamas have ever seen.

Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said in a statement
on Tuesday that Beijing had given approval for the agencies to
enter into a joint venture with privately held Baha Mar Resorts
Ltd for redevelopment of the Cable Beach resort in Nassau.

Chinese Ambassador Dingxian Hu is to meet with Ingraham on
Aug. 18 to formalize the agreement.

Tourism and financial services drive the economy in the
Bahamas, an Atlantic island chain that stretches from just off
eastern Florida to near southeast Cuba and has a population of
310,000 people.

The future of the Baha Mar project was called into question
after casino operator Harrah's Entertainment Inc
pulled out of the deal in March 2008.

The China Export-Import Bank will provide $2.5 billion in
financing, and the other agency, China State Construction, will
take a small equity stake in the development and act as main
contractor for the 1,000-acre project.

Baha Mar's chairman and chief executive, Sarkis Izmirlian,
said China's approval was critical for the resort project that
is expected to create 11,000 jobs and add $1 billion in new
spending to the Bahamian economy in the first year after
completion.

As soon as the Bahamian government gives its formal
approval, Baha Mar will award almost $60 million in
construction contracts for infrastructure work to prepare the
resort site, he said.

"We strongly believe that the creation of this world class
resort will significantly benefit the Bahamas and all
Bahamians," Izmirlian said in a statement. "Ultimately, our
project will result in the creation of 11,000 Bahamian jobs,
including 6,000 to 7,000 new permanent positions. This will be
the most substantial single job stimulus opportunity the
Bahamas has ever experienced."

The construction phase is expected to last about four years
and employ 4,000 Bahamians. The company said that once the
resort is fully operating, approximately 98 percent of the
staff will be Bahamians.

The company expects millions of vacationers and business
travelers a year will visit the resort, which is to include six
hotels with 3,500 rooms and condos, the largest casino in the
Caribbean, the largest convention center in the Bahamas and an
18-hole golf course and retail village.
(Editing by Jane Sutton, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)