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More promises from govt. to reveal Marriott’s private investor

May 19, 2014 News

 

Even in the face of persistent questions being posed by the media to get clues about the mystery surrounding the financing of the Marriott, government maintains its stance to keep the public from knowing the “real deal.”
At the most recent post cabinet briefing, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon told the media of his inability to clarify matters relating to the financial structure of Marriott.
He was responding to questions about the hotel which had its sign lighted up for the first time on Friday last.
Dr. Luncheon indicated his ignorance on the matter even though he is a sitting member of the Board of the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) which is the main investor in the Marriott through the special purpose company Atlantic Hotel Inc (AHI).
However, Dr. Luncheon promised the media that “much greater clarity will be soon provided.”
Asked, after the briefing, specifically about the private investor, Dr. Luncheon, as if he rehearsed that phrase, repeated “much greater clarity will be soon provided.”
President Donald Ramotar had in March said “I don’t think you (the media) will have to wait much longer” for word on the identity of the private investor who is plugging US$8M into the Marriott hotel.  But, well over a month later, the nation still awaits the revelation.
When it was pointed out to Dr. Luncheon that the President had promised to soon provide details, the Cabinet Secretary said, “Well now it’s just a matter of weeks, that’s all Luncheon can say.”
Even the Opposition has not yet been let in on the “secret” of who this private investor is. A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s Shadow Minister of Public Works, Joseph Harmon recently expressed dissatisfaction at the fact that even though the time is drawing near for the opening of this hotel, the government is still withholding the name of this key investor.
With reference to the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL)’s US$4M investment in the Marriott, Harmon said “we have money invested in that project so we have to know what is happening.”
The APNU Member of Parliament (MP) said NICIL used public monies “without our permission. If it were a case where only private investors, using their own monies, invested in the Marriott, I wouldn’t say anything. But when you would take my money (NICIL investment) in a situation almost like a choke-and-rob scenario, and invest it in a project without me having a say, I then have a right to express my opinion and a right to know who the investors are.”
The initial financing structure for the construction of the Marriott Hotel was that NICIL would have invested its US$4M through Atlantic Hotel Inc. which it set up as a special purpose company for Marriott.
NICIL also lends the project US$15.5M and Republic Bank Trinidad was asked to syndicate US$27M while the still-to-be-named investor is to invest US$8M.
But in March President Ramotar provided an entirely different financing structure for the Marriott Hotel. Ramotar said that there is a “consortium of people that  put money into it.”
He told reporters then that as a result, there is money to continue works as government ties up “small arrangements.”
To date, however, only NICIL’s US$19.5M has been officially stated to be put into the project. There is yet to be financial closure on the money coming from the private investor, after which the Republic Bank money is expected to be put in.
NICIL is a private shareholding company of which government is the only stakeholder.

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