Georgetown: Some three months after the Guyana Government held a Sod Turning ceremony for the construction of the Marriot International Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown they are still seeking investors.
This was confirmed recently by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, who recorded that the administration is currently looking to secure investors through a current move inviting Expressions of Interests.
“The EOI is intended to secure investors to close financing of the deal,” according to Dr. Luncheon.
He said that, “What we have had so far is financing for a portion of the work and the expectation is that the move by Central Government in going for additional investors would allow them to be involved in the cost and the financing of the project.”
Over the course of the past weekend and the previous weekend the Special Purpose Company created to construct the project namely Atlantic Hotel Inc. was inviting EOI’s from interested investors.
The more than eight year gestation period for the Hotel has been described as painful and replete with ‘ups and downs’.
The Marriot Brand Hotel in Guyana has been a bone of contention ever since its announcement and over the years, information regarding the progress being made on the project proved to be elusive with the stakeholders changing over time.
Winston Brassington who is the Head of the National Industrial Commercial and Investments Limited (NICIL), the Government’s Privatization Unit and a host of other government agencies was one of the principal negotiators behind the project and today is listed as one of the principals for Atlantic Hotel Incorporated (AHI).
AHI is a special purpose company that has been established to own the hotel.
On November 16 last following approval by Marriott of the revised designs, a ‘design and build’ contract was executed with Shanghai Construction Group (SCG) and AHI to the value of $50.9M.
According to Brassington the cost encompasses the delivery of a 197-room facility built on a turnkey basis.
The hotel is slated to also accommodate a large ballroom, conference, casino, restaurant and nightclub facility among amenities, “of a full service Marriott.”
The finalization of the financing arrangement is expected before the start of construction which will be very shortly,” according to Brassington. This was in November.
On hand for the ceremony was SCG Trinidad Ltd-CEO, Michael Zhang, who expressed his company’s appreciation to the Government and its Client (AHI) to design and build the facility.
He said that the company which is Chinese state owned is ranked among the top 50 in the world and they will over the next two years build a world class hotel for Guyana.
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