Following a call by government for Expressions of Interest, the Guyana Office for Foreign and Local Investment (G-Invest) yesterday signed agreements to pave the way for the development of four chain-branded hotels here, including a US$90 million Hilton hotel.
G-Invest Chief Executive Officer Peter Ramsaroop said if the projects are realised, they will see the construction of a Hilton Garden Inn at Houston/Mc Doom, East Bank Demerara, a Delta Hotels Marriott near the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, an H-Towers luxury hotel in New Providence, on the East Bank, and a SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western in the city centre.
Over the course of yesterday, G-Invest and the Ministry of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the representatives of each of the four chains.
While noting that the signing signals Guyana is open for investment, he said the construction of the hotels is being funded by local and foreign investors, while land has already been secured.
In the case of the US$90 million Hilton Garden Inn, Ramsaroop said the investors are looking to break ground at the start of next year as they have already acquired the necessary building permits.
The project is led by 658 Guyana Holdings, a joint venture company, managed by 1503 Partners, who are joined by TOTALTEC Oilfield Services Guyana Inc and GREC Investment Group as key stakeholders to the project.
The Hilton branded hotel will be in close proximity to the Guyana Shore Base Inc and will feature nine stories. At yesterday’s signing, it was stated that the project will break ground in January 2021 and construction will last for a period of two years.
In a statement, businessman Lars Mangal, Chairman and CEO of TOTALTEC and representative of 658 Guyana Holdings said, “This will be a great addition to Guyana, boosting the development of local capacity in support of its indigenous oil and gas sector along with offering additional room capacity to serve the tourism sector.” He added, “Our development will not only create jobs in the construction sector but also create several opportunities for plus 25 Guyanese contractors and suppliers to be involved in another world class development for Guyana. We will see investments being made in the training and development of staff to serve in hospitality and catering departments as the construction phase nears completion on this fast track development concept.”
The hotel is expected to consist of 161 rooms with programming of a further 128 suites and to feature a variety of onsite dining options, conference facilities, a pool, and a 24-hour fitness facility. The statement added that the architectural design will bring in the best of modern smart Scandinavian minimalistic concepts, incorporating regional and local environmental and aesthetically stunning features, including spectacular landscaping of the grounds.
According to Mangal, his investment partners are appreciative of the support and progress by the Government of Guyana following the recent Expression of Interest, to expedite the process with outstanding support from its team at G-Invest. “We also look forward to developing a strong partnership with the Ministry of Tourism in offering more world-class accommodation to boost growth of that sector,” he added.
Meanwhile, local entertainment company Hits and Jams is behind the construction of the H-Towers Luxury Hotel, which seeks to provide an estimated 400 rooms.
The Delta Hotels Marriott aims to provide 255 rooms, while the SureStay Plus Hotel seeks to deliver a 100-room hotel.
Ramsaroop pointed out that the construction of these hotels falls in line with President Irfaan Ali’s vision of having 2000 hotel rooms available to meet the needs of the country’s emerging business sector as a result of oil and gas activities.
He also said the agreements signal investor confidence in Guyana. “We will be having more investments in Guyana and that tells we are right now the No.1 destination for investment,” he added.
Last Friday, head of the Giftland group, Roy Beepat, announced plans for a Radisson Blu Hotel.
In late September, Ali had told this newspaper that plans are on stream for four new hotel franchises to be established here. Shortly after taking office, according to Ali, a number of business proposals were sent to his government, including expressions to build hotels. It was in light of this he said that expressions of interest would have been publicly advertised, so that all interested hoteliers and investors are given a chance to highlight projects intended.
“All of those projects will generate hundreds of jobs. In the construction phase and then in the permanent phase, when it comes into operation. We, at least, would like to see four new branded hotels here in Guyana. We have already gone out to a public expression of interest. That is out about a week now,” he said.
“What I can say is we went out to that expression of interest because of the level of activism in the first five weeks I came to office. We have been receiving many requests for persons who want to invest in hotels, branded hotels. So we thought it best if we have all these requests to go out to a public process where everyone who is interested gets an opportunity to put in their proposals. Yes, they will be branded hotels of international standards,” he added.
The next week, the Ministry of Tourism put out a Request for Proposals (RFP). Government told interested persons that it will use the responses to the RFP “to rank and select those parties” who would then be invited to negotiate an MOU including land terms, zoning, development conditions, and other incentives that will be provided.
