Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 08, 2012 News
Government’s plan to build a multi-million dollar hotel in Kingston along with a casino continues to face burning questions with one Parliamentarian making it clear yesterday that his party would be asking for more information.
According to Joe Harmon, the Shadow Minister for Public Works of the A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), the publication of ads asking for parties to express interest in operating a planned casino, Night Club and restaurant makes clear conclusion that it will be separated from the hotel. The entertainment section of hotels around the world is a virtual moneymaker with income from rooms just part of the income.
Government has been insisting that the entertainment section, which includes the three, is part of the hotel.
However, Harmon, a lawyer by profession, believes that the advertisement is confusing by its very wording.
There have been accusations that the hotel was deliberately being separated from the lucrative entertainment section to protect the latter in case of a possible bankruptcy.
The actual wording of the advertisement which has been running in the Guyana Chronicle newspaper includes one part that said the entertainment section would be “annexed” to the hotel.
The use of the word sends a message of it being separate, Harmon argued.
“Then the ad is asking for the operators to outfit and conduct the operations of the section. Obviously the operators would be signing some agreement to run the entire thing. So it works out that government would be really renting this section. It would be interesting to examine the agreement regarding payments that the hotel owners…the government…has with the operators.”
Another factor that stands out like a sore thumb is that government is looking for company with a brand to handle the casino and the other business.
“This is significant if you have on one hand a Marriott brand and then an international casino manager like say…Trump. Trump would not want to be swallowed up or subsume by Marriott.
Two separate operations.”
“I think the whole thing is a big scheme to ensure that a casino is there.”
Yesterday, Government’s chief spokesman, Dr. Roger Luncheon, said that the entire operations will be owned by Government through a specially established company, Atlantic Hotel Inc. (AHI) which is headed by former Privatization Unit head, Winston Brassington.
It will consist of 150-rooms and cost up to US$60M…Government is planning to invest one-third of that amount.
However, although the grounds in Kingston have been broken and the ground works are underway, the project has been met with rejection from local hotel operators who are arguing that too many empty rooms exist to justify
the building of another hotel.
Government has not released the feasibility study that was completed to justify the hotel.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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