KINGSTON, Jamaica – The developer of a roughly $3.5 billion hotel-and-casino megaresort project under construction in the Bahamas has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Baha Mar Ltd. announced Monday that the U.S. filings were being done “voluntarily” to hopefully complete construction and finally open the sprawling megaresort touted as the most expensive project ever undertaken in the Bahamas.

CEO Sarkis Izmirlian says he is “committed to doing all I realistically can to move Baha Mar forward to be completed.”

It’s the latest setback for Baha Mar, which puts the blame on incomplete work and missed deadlines by lead contractor China Construction America.

Plans call for the Nassau resort to be a roughly 1,000-acre (405-hectare) complex with hotels, some 40 restaurants and clubs, and what’s billed as the Caribbean’s biggest casino.