The construction of the US$54 million five-star hotel and casino at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara has hit a snag due to issues with the ownership of the land.
Stabroek News understands that the state land on which the Sun and Sand Hotel is to be built, for which construction was slated to commence by the beginning of August, was sold by the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) but the company has failed to follow through on its payment scheme.
This publication was reliably informed that the payment for the land needed to be worked out prior to any construction beginning at the site. The US$54 million estimated cost of the private project was inclusive of the 12-acre block of land located at A1 Liliendaal.
At the turning-of-the-sod ceremony in July, Bhushan Chandna, Director of the Sun and Sand Hotels, had told Stabroek News that the land was already owned by the developer and the price of the project was inclusive of the cost agreement, he was not able to give the cost of the land separately.
The site was previously the proposed location for the Lakeview Hotel, a planned five-star hotel that never came off the ground. Former President Bharrat Jagdeo had attended the sod turning for that hotel in November of 2004 and was also at the sod turning for the Sun and Sand venture in July.
The GLSC had received an application to lease the land to the Lakeview Hotel, but since the deal fell through it was never fully processed.
Stabroek News was told up to a month ago by a member of the GLSC that the land was still leased land and was not sold to the hotel developer. Since the turning of the sod ceremony in July there has been no officially gazetted transfer or sale of state lands by the GLSC to the Sun and Sand Group.
The Sun and Sand Hotel chain is part of the Sun and Sand Group of Companies, which is an Indian company already involved in the local mining sector. At the sod turning ceremony it was revealed that local contractor BK International is slated to be one of the contractors for the project, which will also see labour and building materials coming from overseas.
BK International was revealed to have been the company which transferred both prospecting and exploration licences to the Sun and Sand Mining Resources in March after the GGMC board approved the transfers. The intention to transfer was supposed to be gazetted in April, however upon verification, Stabroek News could not locate any notice of such transfer in the Official Gazette.
Chandna could not be contacted by Stabroek News for clarification.
The Sun and Sand Hotel chain is not to be confused with the five-star Sun n Sand Hotel chain operating out of India; the latter has a website and numerous reviews on travel blogs, while the former has none. The planned 163-room hotel and casino will be the first out-of-India hotel developed by the company. Chandna had previously told Stabroek News that Sun and Sand Hotels has hotels operating in India and the company is looking to expand. He told Stabroek News that the locations were in the Punjab region, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan.
