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Possible PPP oust makes Marriott investors cagey
By Abena Rockcliffe
The Marriott Hotel Georgetown Project appears to be in shambles. Investors are said to be unwilling to invest at this time
Khemraj Ramjattan,
AFC Leader
when it is unsure whether the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration will remain in power.
Speaking at the Alliance For Change (AFC) weekly press conference yesterday, the Party’s Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan said, that it has been communicated to him that the investors are not committed to the Marriott at this time.
Ramjattan told the media that he understands that the No-Confidence Motion which his Party tabled has resulted in “some serious hesitation” on the part of the investors.
He said, “They were supposed to put the money in, but they have not, but like the behavior of all the investors, they don’t want to invest when things seem unstable.”
“They know that elections are coming soon and we have made a statement that we are going to question all these projects by the Government, and if we find anything illegal we will revoke the contract. These investors I understand are concerned about that statement,” said the AFC Leader.
The politician said that he and his Party will not hold themselves fettered by “what the PPP would have concluded in certain arrangements. If there is an AFC government tomorrow, all these contracts will be questioned and revised thoroughly and if there is any illegality we are going to ensure that those who are involved will be jailed and the contracts will be revoked.”
Ramjattan told the media that from all indications, the investors are worried to the extent that “they are saying let us see what transpires later down the line. They feel as if it is not safe to invest at this point.”
Yet, works are ongoing and the Hotel is almost completed even though it missed several deadlines. To date, the only official source of funding has been the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).
A source close to the project told Kaieteur News, “if I say that (being scared) is definitely the reason the investors are yet to commit, I will be lying because that was not communicated to me. But I do know that the money is yet to be handed over. Yet works continue, I would think the bigger thing to find out is where the money is coming from now.”The project is still to receive funding from its private investors to the tune of US$8M or the Republic Bank syndicated loan of US$27M.This publication confirmed that Chairman of Atlantic Hotels Inc. Winston Brassington went to China seeking new investors.
NICIL Head, Winston Brassington
To date, NICIL has officially expended almost US$20M building the Marriott Hotel.
Brassington had announced that Ace Square Investments Limited would be putting the US$8M required to own majority shares of the hotel, but ever since the announcement, neither the principals nor the documents finalizing the financial agreements
have been presented to the Guyanese people. The AHI has also announced that it has completed the financial arrangements with Republic Bank Ltd. for a syndicated loan of US$27M in debt financing for the project, but the nation is yet to see documentation verifying this claim.
According to Brassington, the principal investors in AHI are NICIL, which has invested US$4M, and BVI-registered ACE Square Investments Ltd.
ACE Square Investments Ltd. will acquire 67 per cent of the equity of AHI for US$8M but the company has reportedly invested none of the promised money.
The beneficial owners of the shares in ACE Square Investments Ltd., and the owners of the shares in ACE Square Investments Ltd., through a BVI-registered holding company, Big Splendor Limited, are Hong Kong businessmen, Victor How Chung Chan and Xu Han.
The Marriott Hotel has been mired in controversy from its inception, firstly with the rerouting of the sewerage system before any works had begun.
Prior to the NICIL money, Government had given Courtney Benn Contracting Services Limited a US$1M contract for the rerouting of the sewerage system in the Kingston locale. That contract was pulled after more than US$700,000 was paid over. It was then given to an overseas company, for a further US$2M.
AHI also leased the prime seven acres of shorefront property on which the hotel rests for a measly US$120 (G$24,000) per month with an option to buy.
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