Controversially built with taxpayer money, the US$58M Guyana Marriott Hotel was commissioned by President Donald Ramotar yesterday during a morning ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a grand opening reception attended by a few hundred persons in the evening.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony Stabroek News spoke with Xu Han, one of the potential Hong Kong- based private investors who said that he was pleased with the 197-room hotel and hopes that the legal action filed by an opposition activist is resolved soon.
Its opening marred by protests yesterday morning (see other story on page 15), the hotel has attracted vociferous opposition over the employment of taxpayer money to build it, the virtual giveaway of the land it is situated on, the almost exclusive use of Chinese labour to build it, the difficulty in attracting investors, the proposed plan to cede two thirds of the shares in it for US$8m and the question of whether the hotel was needed and could be afforded.
Han said he was confident that there would be a resolution soon as ACE Square Investments Ltd, the company that would be responsible for assuming the controlling interest of Atlantic Hotel Inc (AHI) was a publicly traded company.
Director of government holding company NICIL and Chairman of AHI Winston Brassington had previously stated that financing from Republic Bank of US$27 million and