Construction commenced days ago on the $3.5 billion Baha Mar resort, a joint venture between Baha Mar Resorts Ltd and the Export-Import Bank of China, in what will be the largest resort in The Caribbean and even the Western Hemisphere.

China Export-Import Bank is providing $2.5 billion in financing, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) will take a small equity stake in the development and act as the primary contractor for the 1,000-acre project and also supply short-term labor from China to help complete the resort.

The resort will be the largest real estate project built and partially owned by Chinese companies abroad. It's slated to open at the end of 2014 at Nassau's Cable Beach and will include six hotels with approximately 2,250 rooms and condos, the largest convention center in The Bahamas, the largest casino in the Caribbean, a Jack Nicklaus Signature championship 18-hole golf course, and a retail strip featuring many high-end brands.

Upon its completion, it will rival the size of Atlantis, a water-themed resort that dominates Nassau's Paradise Island, and could provide stiff competition.