Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall…Sales agreement ‘likely by weekend’

Mar 13, 2013 News

The sales team for the Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall, East Bank Demerara, is hoping to wrap up an agreement with a potential buyer by this weekend.
The building, which was being constructed as a hotel to accommodate visitors for the Cricket World Cup in 2007, remains incomplete. But, it was reported that the buyer may not use the building as a hotel.

A sales agreement for the Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall is likely by weekend.

The Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall has been on the market for about four years, with numerous persons and businesses expressing interest. However, the sales team was unable to secure a buyer that was willing to pay the desired sum. They were reportedly hoping to secure US$5M (G$1B) for the incomplete structure.
This publication was reliably informed that an overseas company with a local representative wants the building to house its Executives when they are in Guyana.
Yesterday, Keith Burrowes, who is acting on behalf of Government in overseeing the sale of the property, in collaboration with the original investors, confirmed that there is a potential buyer but did not reveal the amount agreed upon.
According to Burrowes, over the past two months a concerted effort was made to get the building sold and the deal is now on the verge of being sealed.
Work on the hotel – originally slated as a US$3.5 million (G$700M) project – began in late January 2006, and was to have been completed by the end of the same year.
At the time of the construction, the government facilitated $30M from the Consolidated Fund. That money was turned over on the agreement that it was an advance payment for rooms, but with no business being conducted, the money will be repaid when the structure is sold.
Burrowes hinted that the amount being negotiated would enable Government to recover its money. In addition, the proprietor would be able to repay her debts and more than likely make a profit.
The Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall was supposed to have offered, in addition to the scores of rooms, a banquet hall that could cater for about 700 persons; three catering restaurants, a storage room, a second-floor pool, 21 suites (including two with presidential facilities) and tuck shops.
The property boasts land measuring approximately 226,512 square feet with two buildings comprising 45 apartments, conference facilities, a catering centre, restaurant, swimming pool and recreational facilities.
He said that certain sections of the building remain incomplete, and as such, the buyer could modify where necessary.