Engineers learn about Marriott’s “new” technology

May 09, 2013 News

New technologies being used in the construction at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston, took centre stage Tuesday night during a presentation by the Project Manager, Romesh Budhram.
According to Atlantic Hotel Inc. (AHI), the government-owned company that is managing the public/private project, the presentation was part of the Guyana Association of Professional Engineers (GAPE) Tuesday Night Lectures, which seek to raise awareness among its members about new projects undertaken in Guyana and the introduction of new technology while sharing experiences and knowledge within the engineering field.

Marriott Hotel’s construction Manager, Romesh Budhram, during his presentation to local engineers Tuesday evening.

Earlier this year, Shanghai Construction Group (SCG), the Chinese firm that has been contracted to build the hotel and entertainment complex project, said that in the initial phase, it used “bored concrete piling technique” to lay the foundation of the 197-room hotel.
It was a new piling technique in Guyana that spurred a controversial decision that met with protests. It was the decision not to hire any locals as there was the fear that not enough skills were available in Guyana.
According to AHI, the presentation is part of AHI and Government of Guyana’s ongoing recognition and appreciation of the need and significance to have a transferral of knowledge to local engineers since this is the first major branded hotel to be constructed in Guyana in over 40 years.
Budhram, Project Manager for M. A. Angeliades Inc, which has been hired to manage the construction, addressed issues of piling, architectural and technical designs of the building, all of which are being done in accordance with international standards of the Marriott International brand, AHI insisted yesterday.
AHI said that the construction of the hotel will meet the Marriott international standard for a five star hotel.
“The hotel will be managed and operated by the Marriott Worldwide chain of affiliates. In addition, there will be a 29,000-square foot entertainment complex that will house a casino, restaurant and nightclub, all of which will be privately operated, separate and distinct from the hotel and its operator.”
SCG is expected to complete the hotel by August next year and says it is being supplied with materials from BK International, Gafoors and Toolsie Persaud Limited.
Since it was announced, the Marriott Hotel met with resistance with local hoteliers who wanted to know why Government was investing in a private sector project.
In 2011, without knowing who the investors were, Government through AHI, released US$10M ($2B) to SCG. Last month, more than one year after releasing that sum, government admitted it still has not closed the deal with the investors.
Then, in shocking disclosures, it said that it is the intention to sell the government’s stake in the hotel once it is up and running.
The National Assembly has not given its blessings for the project as the taxpayers’ dollars being used are controlled by NICIL, a Government-owned company that operates independently, managing Government assets and its proceeds from privatizations of state assets.