BaiShanLin moves to sell property while owing NICIL

Dec 06, 2016 News

BaiShanLin Forest Developers Inc is looking to sell the Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall. However,

BaiShanLin Managing Director, Chu Hongbo

while top officials of the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) continue to dodge the media, Kaieteur News has been able to confirm that BaiShanLin still owes NICIL for the property.
How then can the logging company be able to sell is the question Kaieteur News is seeking to get answered.
The Cacique Palace is located aback the Princess Hotel, East Bank Demerara. This newspaper understands that while BaiShanLin employees occupied the building for over one year, the company still owes around $600M for it.
The Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall was started by a group of private developers, for the 2007 Cricket World Cup to cater for several matches scheduled to be played at the nearby Providence National Stadium. However, the US$3.5M ($700M) project was not completed despite a $30M cash injection by the then Government. Work on the hotel 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 conducted, Government had stepped in.
To recover its monies, the previous administration had established a team comprising the developers and Keith Burrowes, a senior official.
BaiShanLin, which was rapidly expanding its tentacles in the logging and other sectors, expressed an interest and a deal was reportedly reached for US$4.5M, down from the original asking price

The Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall.

of US$5M.
However, BaiShanLin between 2012 and 2013 only paid US$1.5M. There was difficulty to collect the remaining US$3M.
The Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall had been on the market for about four years, with numerous persons and businesses expressing interests, before the deal was sealed with BaiShanLin around 2013.

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