Latest update March 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Mar 23, 2017 News
Almost eight months after moving in and setting up camp in an unfinished section of
the Marriott Hotel, over outstanding monies, a number of Chinese workers are still there.
But it appears that the situation is far from resolved. This is because government is claiming that it owes the contractor nothing. Instead, it says, the contractor owes the hotel US$900,000.
A new Board of Directors of Atlantic Hotel Inc., the state-owned company of the Kingston property, is expected to make the issue a top one on its agenda.
The workers are from Shanghai Construction Group (SCG), a company owned by the Chinese government. That company had received a contract in 2011 to build the hotel, which on paper, cost over US$51M. However, estimates by critics of the project, had tagged real costs to be over US$80M.
The hotel was opened in early 2015, weeks before general elections that saw a new government under David Granger taking office.
SCG was insisting that it was owed between US$4-5M for works done. Government in January insisted that the figure was more likely over US$800,000.The year-long defects reporting period ended in April last year.
AHI and its parent company, National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), had been attempting to make the hotel work. It was unable to meet payments to creditors, including one major commercial bank, forcing Government to step in.
While the administration had initially signalled intention to sell the hotel that has not yet materialized.
Business has improved considerably with a number of events as a major boost to revenues and its restaurant section doing better. To further its prospects, the previous AHI board, headed by Ansa McAl executive, Beverley Harper, had announced plans to complete an adjoining part of the hotel that was designed to be an entertainment complex.
It is in this part of the hotel, which is blocked off from the rest of the property that the Chinese construction workers have taken up camp, after abandoning their temporary accommodations located in the compound.
SCG has been arguing that it owes contractors and others in China, and a number of companies there have threatened to sue.
Kaieteur News was told that late last year NICIL commissioned an engineer from CEMCO, a consultancy firm, to oversee works. A final report found faults and reversed the US$800,000-plus that Government had claimed it owed. Rather, it was the Chinese contractor that was assessed. That bill is for almost US$900,000.
NICIL reportedly wrote the SCG last week asking for a meeting to have the matter settled once and for all.
NICIL’s CEO, in response to questions in January by Kaieteur News, had disclosed that the workers were requested to cease their “illegal” occupation of the site on several occasions. They also received notice from the Chief Fire Officer that their occupation constituted a fire hazard.
“SCG occupies the site in breach of the contract,” the response from NICIL had said.
There are at least four storeys that have been left unfinished. Under the contract, SCG is supposed to complete the shell. They insist that this has been done. The unfinished section is a mere storage area now, of millions of dollars in equipment and building materials.
A number of air-conditioned makeshift rooms were converted to bedrooms for the Chinese workers.
The hotel was heavily pushed by the successive government of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) as an improvement to the quality of accommodation in Guyana.
However, the financing structure saw the hotel, in terms of square footage, becoming one of the most expensive in the world.
While the Government of Guyana spent almost US$30M, it is last on the list to receive any returns or profits.
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