NICIL denies knowledge of Ed Ahmad GuySuCo land for house lots

Apr 17, 2014 News

…says agreement provides for shopping mall following wood processing plant

The National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd. (NICIL) has denied any knowledge that the portion of Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) land sold to New York-based Guyanese Edul Ahmad is being converted into house lots.

Edul Ahmad

The foreign-based businessman, who is said to be a close affiliate of former President Bharrat Jagdeo, bought over 16-acres of prime land from the local sugar company. According to the Agreement of Sale, his company, South American Wood Inc. is supposed to construct a wood processing facility, which is supposed to create numerous jobs for locals.
However, it has been reported that Ahmad stands to make profits of over $600M when he converts the property for which he paid a mere $80M, to a housing scheme, inclusive of a shopping mall, full gas and service station and facilities to house two banks.
NICIL in a press release, yesterday, claims that it acted as an agent when the transaction was done between Ahmad and GuySuCo and according to the agreement, the land at Plantation Groenveldt on the West Coast of Demerara could be converted to a shopping mall once the wood processing plant is the first structure on the property.
NICIL said that GuySuCo entered into a Restrictive Covenant as set out in the terms and conditions of the sale, published in the Vesting Order, effecting the transfer of title, that “the property shall not be used for any other purpose other than for the construction and operation of a wood processing facility with the option of future development in manufacturing, industrial and commercial activities including the construction and operation of a shopping mall, providing that the construction of the wood processing facility is commenced first” and that construction of the wood processing facility commences within one year of the agreement.
NICIL has defended the selling price; that GuySuCo’s land was subjected to two prior bids when in 2003, the highest valid bid amounted to $30M and in 2004, no bids were received for the property. This, the privatization agency said, caused the land to be sold, “at a price comparable with valuations established for GuySuCo land on the East Coast Demerara at $5M per acre.”
While NICIL claims ignorance of the matter, it says that neither the government nor GuySuCo, “has any knowledge of any change of the agreement,” which was entered into with Ahmad’s wood processing company.
The opposition is however, bent on asking hard questions relating to this transaction and is also demanding that the entire transaction be reviewed. The opposition is convinced that all may not be as it seems since state property sold to create jobs and then being converted to a housing scheme means that the owner is profiteering.

Winston Brassington

The GuySuCo property was sold to Ahmad in 2008 and reports are that the project, Leonora Mall and Hollywood Garden, is being managed by Leonora Projects which is owned by one Shareef and Ahmad. NICIL, a state-privatisation arm of the government, is however no stranger to criticism; ending up in the spotlight for what many have referred to as being involved in “tainted” transactions where state resources were sold or privatized under the tenure of Winston Brassington.
Most notable is the sale of the Sanata Complex for “a next to nothing” price to best friend of Bharrat Jagdeo, Dr. Ranjisingh ‘Bobby’ Ramroop.
Ahmad is also no stranger to negative publicity. He was charged by US Federal authorities for his involvement in a massive fraud scheme and in 2012, he entered a plea deal with US agents, and was found guilty of knowingly and intentionally conspiring to defraud several lending institutes over a 15-year period.