President Irfaan Ali yesterday implored Guyanese to dare to dream and act on futuristic developments as he took part in the sod turning for the US$50 million, 150-room, AC Marriott Hotel at Ogle, an area of former sugar estate lands on the East Coast of Demerara that he says will be soon unrecognisable.
“Where we are sitting here today used to be old cane lands. Everything you see on the left, and look at it carefully because in five to ten years, it will not be there. This corridor is going to become the symbol of transformation in this country,” Ali said as he pointed to the large swathe of former sugar cane lands, now taken over by trees and grass.
He said that the onus now is on citizens to work together to transform the country into a state they want to enjoy in years to come and for future generations to be proud of.
It is why, according to Ali, hotel projects throughout the country should not be looked at from the “small-minded” vantage point that they are just more rooms.
“The goal is not a narrow goal of building more rooms in this country. If we believe that is the goal we are all wasting time. That is just an output of the goal… the goal is to build a sector in which hospitality is the main cornerstone of growth and development. And to do that, one of the outputs has to be quality rooms,” he stressed.
Building the hospitality sector, according to the president, is directly connected to his administration’s sustainability plans for the country as the effort to transform Guyana into a prime tourism destination continues.
Making reference to the United Arab Emirates’ plans to transform part of its desert into a cricket destination, Ali noted that Guyanese must dare to dream and not allow anyone to cripple or daunt their dreams.
It is why he underscored the necessity of persons partnering with government to work on transformational projects, given that part of policymakers’ “deliberate planning” focusses heavily on utilising proposals made by locals and investors.
The AC Marriott Hotel, Ali disclosed, is only one project planned for the East Coast corridor’s transformation, a message he said he wants local and foreign investors to be aware of, so as to assure them that government will build the infrastructure necessary for the execution of developmental projects.
“If I am to position this project with what will happen in the immediate term you will have the Ogle to Eccles superhighway, there will also be another highway into Georgetown. Running horizontally will be another highway taking the traffic off the East Coast into Georgetown; from Conversation Tree to GWI. Connecting in a parallel way, a new highway will leave here and go to Enmore to Golden Grove. Just understand the dynamics…” he said of infrastructural projects to be rolled out.
Promising a world class facility with jobs for locals at every level, Trinuyana Investments Incorporated (TII) yesterday signalled that its second sod turning since 2020, was only the beginning of its presence here.
Two years ago investors had turned the sod with the previous APNU+AFC government, following the signing of a MoU. However, progress was stalled after the current PPP/C administration had highlighted that the planned project would fall in the path of the planned Diamond to Ogle road and that it had to be rectified.
“Today’s humble ceremony represents the end of a journey and the commencement of another… the group of investors which I have the honour to lead consists of Trinidad and Guyana businessmen who are proud to be involved in hopefully what would be just the beginning of a fruitful and symbiotic relationship with the government, and people of Guyana,” Trinidadian business magnate John Aboud told attendees at yesterday’s event.
Aboud declared that Ali’s vision for Guyana is exciting and he believes it is “the envy of the region.”
“It is clear and imaginative. I dare say I wish I would be around in 25 years to see the full fruits of your labour. The excitement and vision you have created is not only encouraging domestic investment but indeed has created a tsunami of foreign interest in Guyana”, he said.
The Guyana Office for Investment came in for high praise as Aboud pointed out that it “literally held our hand throughout the approval process advising and ensuring all government regulations were properly dealt with.”
Hangar
“In all honesty without the support of this agency we may still be in the hangar instead on the verge of takeoff,” he added.
He promised that in the two years and three months, the timeframe anticipated for completion, Guyanese will have a facility to be proud of. “In 27 months from now, when you return to cut the ribbon for the opening ceremony, this will be a project that you, the government, and people of Guyana will be proud of,” he declared.
Local content plays an important role for the company, according to Aboud, as it is “our stated intention to have as much national participation in both the construction and operational phases of this project. And where necessary, we will commence training of Guyanese nationals to assume if not all, at least 95 per cent of the positions within the hotel.”
In April of this year, the company signed a contract with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) for the construction of the hotel. This phase of the project is expected to create some 400 jobs, the company had stated.
CHEC has secured several major construction contracts here in recent years.
According to the contract, the company has said that a five-storey full-service hotel will be built. It will include a swimming pool, fitness room, lounge, library, media salon, meeting room, reception area, a courtyard, and an outdoor area. Paved parking lots, drive aisles, and site roads will be situated north of the building.
Additionally, a total of 114 parking spaces will be provided and a drop-off roundabout will be constructed in front of the courtyard. Retail stores are also included in the design.
Once completed, some 140 permanent jobs will be created with Guyanese nationals filling 99 per cent of those jobs.
To fill these vacancies, training will be provided to improve the available supply of employees in all areas of the hospitality industry.
AC Hotels by Marriott operates as a subsidiary of Marriott International Inc.
