Funding in excess of US$50M has been secured for the Kingston hotel project and the sod-turning ceremony will now be held when the developers Adam Development/Urban Associates (ADUA) receives the environmental impact assessment (EIA) permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The ceremony had been planned for mid-June then mid-July. In a press release the developers said last week that the new date for the ceremony at which representatives of ADUA, the Marriott Hotels chain, the financiers and the government would attend, was being coordinated among the various parties. Previously the government had been silent about the investment, saying only that the investors would be disclosed when construction starts.
According to the release the developers have secured funding for the entire project, which is projected at more than US$50 million and ADUA and its principals, who are still to be named, are providing the necessary guarantees for the funding. “The financing closing will be consummated in Guyana via its Guyanese subsidiary that will be executing the project on behalf of ADUA,” the release said adding that ADUA has retained the services of a local professional accounting firm and a local law firm to complete the paperwork necessary in Guyana.
It said too it expects ADUA through its environmental consultants to present the draft EIA to the EPA for review, approval and obtaining of a permit this month. The EIA is being conducted by Environmental Manage-ment Consultants (EMC), which has as its main partner Shyam Nokta.
Opposition political parties have questioned the lack of transparency in the investment saying that opaqueness was one of the features of the Jagdeo government. They said there had been bidding for the land and no one knows on what terms and conditions the property was awarded and to whom. PNCR Chairman Winston Murray had said that in order for the government to maintain its own integrity and the integrity of the Kingston hotel project, it needed to publicise all the information, even at this late stage. Murray said he was particularly concerned about the lack of transparency in the awarding of state lands to a consortium of unknown investors for the construction of the hotel and casino. He said that he saw no need for confidentiality in the awarding of state lands. Murray said too the government does itself no favours by getting into transactions in an opaque manner as it leaves room for rumours to run rife in the society which is not in the best national interests.
ADUA presented its design plans and drawings of the complex to the EPA, Mayor and City Council, Central Housing and Planning Authority, the Sea Defence Board and the government in April. This was followed by a scoping exercise on May 16, to determine the terms of reference (TOR) for the EMC. In June the TOR was approved. In May ADUA brought in a team to construct new sewerage lines to allow the site to be cleared for construction. Local engineers had questioned the integrity of the work done and some of it had to be redone. Government had awarded the US$700,000 contract to the Courtney Benn Contracting Services Limited but it withdrew it to allow the investors to address the matter.
The release said too in May ADUA had also completed the initial clearing and demolition of buildings, including the former Luckhoo swimming pool at its own cost. It also said the building that remains will be used as a construction site office. Prior to sod-turning ceremony the entire site would be fenced to allow construction to start when all the regulatory approvals and required permits are granted, ADUA said. This project has been in the works since 2006.
