0arriott almost taNen over b\ 5eSublic %anN last \ear

G8<ANA - The 0arriott Hotel in .ingston, controlled by Government, was on the verge of being taken over by Republic %ank Trinidad last year because of non-payments. %ut some tough negotiations ended up with the hotel being granted some legroom, Government officials have confirmed. Opened in early , the

-room hotel ran into early problems of not making enough money to repay the almost 8S 0-plus syndicated loan it took from Republic %ank.

In fact, without the adMoining annex being completed and converted into a casino to an independent operator, the hotel will never reali]e a profit, even if all the rooms are filled.

/ast year, up to -une, the payments due to Republic %ank was a staggering 8S . 0. Operating under tight checks and balances, the Coalition Government was unable to come up with the money in a hurry. 0arriott sources and Government officials over the weekend explained that it has managed half the payments after Republic %ank agreed for restructuring of the loans. Payments semi-annually now have been brought down from 8S . 0 every six months to 8S , , or almost half.

%y , the Atlantic Hotel Inc. AHI , the special company which owns the facilities, has to repay the 8S . 0 it owes to the bank. Currently, four companies have reportedly shown serious interest in the hotel, including the Princess Group at Providence, and one from Suriname.

With inspections of the annex completed by the interest groups, AHI is now moving to have an independent consultant conduct due diligence. With the renegotiation, the hotel has managed to bring down its interest rates from a hefty nine percent to Must over six percent. The administration has been facing pressure to give up the hotel.

In fact, the sale of the hotel is being seen as a means to help the beleaguered Guyana Sugar Corporation, which is badly in need to cash inMection to operate its three estates that has remained open.

The hotel was birthed under the %harrat -agdeo administration with promises of local Mobs being created. However, save for a few contracts for sand and other material, the Mobs went mostly to the Shanghai Construction Group and its imported Chinese workers. (ven the landscaping Mobs were handled by them.

%ut the outgoing Government under the People’s Progressive Party Civic was unhappy with the Tuality of works of SCG. It withheld some of the money from the contractor and used part of it to fix the defects that were cropping up – from floors to walls to the pool area.

)or more than two years, SCG staffers camped out in the adMoining annex demanding the money, forcing AHI to secure a court order which agreed for the locks to be changed in 'ecember.

The hotel cost over 8S 0 to build, with total costs including land running up 8S 0, government officials said. That meant excluding the loan, the people of Guyana sank almost 8S 0 in land and cash worth.The government is now admitting that it will be difficult to sell the hotel and recoup the costs. What is known, Government officials say, is that it is difficult to sink bailout money into 0arriott to keep it alive, while the plug has been pulled on a few estates of the Guyana Sugar Corporation, affecting thousands of workers. (Kaieteur News)