US$75M, 150-room AC Marriott Hotel for Ogle

Feb 13, 2020 News

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– Trinidadian businessman John Aboud is investor – NICIL

There will be the turning of the sod this afternoon to start the construction of a US$75M, 150-room hotel at Ogle, East Coast Demerara. The hotel to be named AC Marriott, will take 30 months to complete, with Trinidadian businessman, John Aboud, as the investor.

The land would be in the vicinity of where the old headquarters of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), at Ogle is located. It will also reportedly be close to where a bypass road linking the East Bank Demerara will be built.
According to an invitation from the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, will deliver the keynote address.
NICIL is the same state-owned company which built the US$51M, 197-room Marriott Hotel at Kingston. That has been filled to capacity as a result of the current oil activities in Guyana. The country has been seeking additional quality hotels.
AC Marriott is said to be a subsidiary of Marriott International.
According to NICIL, it recently signed an agreement with Trinuyana Investments Incorporated of Guyana to develop a “world class, iconic, select service, internationally branded Hotel – AC Marriott Hotel”.
NICIL said that the project is already underway with the commencement of geo-technical works.
“The construction of the hotel will bring additional rooms to add to the national hotel stock, which will (help) stimulate the local economy through additional employment opportunities and business development.”
NICIL said that Trinuyana Investments Incorporated intends to target business travellers to Guyana, especially those linked to Guyana’s nascent oil and gas sector.
The new hotel also wants to target ExxonMobil (Guyana) headquarters, which will be situated in proximity to the Eugene F. Correia International Airport, Ogle.

“Trinuyana Investments Incorporated principals are confident that the proposed development will boost the existing architectural and landscape ambience of the Ogle area while providing a sustainable design approach, ensuring that the space remains a unique, iconic, Caribbean-wide destination.”
Also set to address the sod-turning will be Chief Executive Officer of NICIL, Colvin Heath-London.
According to NICIL, an initial 400-plus jobs will be created during construction, with some 200 permanent ones upon completion.
NICIL’s Privatization Specialist (Acting) Rachael Henry disclosed that the hotel will be constructed over four floors.
She disclosed that her agency and the CEO of Trinuyana Investment Inc (Guyana and Trinidad), John Aboud held lengthy discussions before arriving at the decision to construct the hotel.
Henry said that the hotel will have several amenities. Among them conference, office and some state-of-the-art living facilities, which he said would be integrated into the hotel complex.
“This is the culmination of negotiations that NICIL had with this company and the result is a major brand name hotel coming to Guyana so that all can benefit from it, as it certainly will boost our tourism and ultimately our country revenues,” Henry said
CEO of Trinuyana, John Aboud, according to the statement from NICIL, said that he is excited over the fact that the project will finally be rolled out, stressing that the work of NICIL was significant in ensuring that the hotel project becomes a reality.
He disclosed that he was very impressed with the manner in which NICIL and their team conducted the discussion, stressing that NICIL sought to secure the best possible deal for Guyana.
He disclosed that he was eyeing Guyana for a number of years, but about three years ago felt confident enough to move ahead with the project. He pointed out that while they don’t have major personnel on the ground as yet, he foresees this being a reality in early March, noting that they anticipate construction commencing in a few months.
Aboud, who NICIL said heads a major investment company in Trinidad and Tobago, pointed out that he fell in love with the numerous opportunities that exist here. He stated that Guyana is poised significantly to benefit significantly from what he dubbed as its rapidly growing tourism market.
“After visiting here a few times and seeing the numerous opportunities that exist, I decided to invest in buying some land, as I see that there is a need for such investment to further propel Guyana’s tourism,” Aboud said.
He said that the first-class hotel will cater for both business and tourism-related visitors.
He revealed that the first cost would be to the tune of US$75 million, stressing that another significant amount of money is expected to be pumped into the hotel as they seek to take it to the acceptable international standard.
Aboud further revealed that the hotel, which will contain 150 rooms, is a five-star hotel, noting that the new brand is one that is fresh and is the latest being managed by Marriott.
Meanwhile, Heath-London noted that the people can expect NICIL pursuing a number of opportunities that will yield significant revenues and benefits for the country.
He stressed that his team had engaged Trinuyana and is satisfied that their investment is ideal and most importantly, timely.
“We are very pleased with the investment that Mr. Aboud and team would be bringing to Guyana and are very confident that the government and people of Guyana will certainly benefit from this major hotel investment,” Heath-London stressed.

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