LEADING international aircraft manufacturer, Bombardier Incorporated, is in talks with the Guyana Government on starting a national flag carrier for Guyana, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported yesterday.
It said President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday met representatives of the Canadian company to discuss the establishment of a national flag carrier by next year. The proposed plan, the agency said, includes financing and part-management of the new airline by the Canadian-based parent company, Bombardier Aerospace.
Among those at the State House meeting were Bombardier’s Director of American Sales, Ross Gray and Chief Executive Officer of the proposed new company, Air Guyana, Tulsi Ram Issurdatt. According to GINA, Gray said “We are prepared to provide all the private enterprise equipment and support necessary for the firm’s establishment and operations.”
The agency said he expressed confidence in Guyana’s potential and described the venture as one with “tremendous opportunities”.
Bombardier Incorporated’s Bombardier Aerospace subsidiary is the world's #3 maker of civil aircraft behind Boeing and Airbus; the #1 regional aircraft maker (Canadair, de Havilland), ahead of Embraer; and one of the two largest makers of business jets (Challenger, Learjet), just behind Gulfstream.
Hope may be on the horizon. This is wonderful news to us.
Start small and grow...not as some people do...start big and go bust !!!
Challenge the existing market and establish sound routes (or roots) then grow.
THEN BARBADOS CAN SHOVE THEIR US$30 TRANSIT TAX !!!
Thursday, 8 March 2007
Cara Hotels in bid for Le Meridien (Guyana Chronicle)
By Mark Ramotar
GUYANA-BASED Cara Hotels group yesterday confirmed its planned acquisition of Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, with founders and owners Paul Stephenson and Shawn McGrath optimistic the major deal can be closed in three months time.“We - Cara Hotels - are confirming our intention to acquire Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel in Guyana,” Stephenson, 49, told the Guyana Chronicle in the presence of his business partner, McGrath, 45.
“We already have an agreement with the Directors of the Pegasus in London but there are certain aspects of the transaction that still need to be finalized and this should be completed within the next 90 days,” he said.
Over the past several months, McGrath and Stephenson said they have both been in regular contact with the Directors of Le Meridien Group in London, which owns the Pegasus in Georgetown, and they have since worked out most aspects of the deal, including the acquisition cost.
“We have been in contact with the Directors of Le Meridien (in London) and we have already agreed on the acquisition price and we are now working on closing the deal,” McGrath said.
He declined to give details on the acquisition price but said it is “obviously a very substantial sum”. “We are about 95% in closing the deal; it’s just the final aspects of the deal that we are currently working on.”.“Realistically, we are talking three months or 90 days to close the deal,” Stephenson said, nothing that what is left to be done is mostly paperwork. “We just have to finalize the investors, the shareholders agreement and the banking agreements and getting all the legal paper work done.”
He said, too, Le Meridien Group in London is “pleased” that a “Guyanese hotel company” in interested in buying the hotel, instead of an overseas company.
“The feel I get is that they (Le Meridien Group) are pleased that it is a Guyanese hotel company that is making the approach to acquire Le Meridien Pegasus in Georgetown.”
Stephenson, who was the General Manager of the Pegasus Hotel from 1986 to 1994, and McGrath, who was the Deputy General Manager of the Pegasus from 1989 to 1994, both have a wealth of knowledge and experience in managing hotels.
When the two left the Pegasus together in 1994, they co-founded the Cara Hotels group in Guyana with the opening of Cara Suites on Middle Street, Georgetown in January 1995.
With hotels in Georgetown, Guyana; Castries, St Lucia; and Pointe a Pierre, Trinidad, Cara Hotels is a company that addresses the needs of the modern business and leisure traveller, according to the charismatic and forward-thinking businessmen.
“Over the years we have offered our guests a special brand of hospitality that makes us their number one choice and keeps them coming back, year after year,” McGrath posited.
I think the London based owners of Pegasus were just waiting for a good enough offer to off load the hotel. They couldn't be bothered to compete with the "New Buddy's International Hotel". Also with talks of Marriott Hotels Group wanting to build a hotel in Guyana the owner got scared !!!
GUYANA-BASED Cara Hotels group yesterday confirmed its planned acquisition of Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, with founders and owners Paul Stephenson and Shawn McGrath optimistic the major deal can be closed in three months time.“We - Cara Hotels - are confirming our intention to acquire Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel in Guyana,” Stephenson, 49, told the Guyana Chronicle in the presence of his business partner, McGrath, 45.
“We already have an agreement with the Directors of the Pegasus in London but there are certain aspects of the transaction that still need to be finalized and this should be completed within the next 90 days,” he said.
Over the past several months, McGrath and Stephenson said they have both been in regular contact with the Directors of Le Meridien Group in London, which owns the Pegasus in Georgetown, and they have since worked out most aspects of the deal, including the acquisition cost.
“We have been in contact with the Directors of Le Meridien (in London) and we have already agreed on the acquisition price and we are now working on closing the deal,” McGrath said.
He declined to give details on the acquisition price but said it is “obviously a very substantial sum”. “We are about 95% in closing the deal; it’s just the final aspects of the deal that we are currently working on.”.“Realistically, we are talking three months or 90 days to close the deal,” Stephenson said, nothing that what is left to be done is mostly paperwork. “We just have to finalize the investors, the shareholders agreement and the banking agreements and getting all the legal paper work done.”
He said, too, Le Meridien Group in London is “pleased” that a “Guyanese hotel company” in interested in buying the hotel, instead of an overseas company.
“The feel I get is that they (Le Meridien Group) are pleased that it is a Guyanese hotel company that is making the approach to acquire Le Meridien Pegasus in Georgetown.”
Stephenson, who was the General Manager of the Pegasus Hotel from 1986 to 1994, and McGrath, who was the Deputy General Manager of the Pegasus from 1989 to 1994, both have a wealth of knowledge and experience in managing hotels.
When the two left the Pegasus together in 1994, they co-founded the Cara Hotels group in Guyana with the opening of Cara Suites on Middle Street, Georgetown in January 1995.
With hotels in Georgetown, Guyana; Castries, St Lucia; and Pointe a Pierre, Trinidad, Cara Hotels is a company that addresses the needs of the modern business and leisure traveller, according to the charismatic and forward-thinking businessmen.
“Over the years we have offered our guests a special brand of hospitality that makes us their number one choice and keeps them coming back, year after year,” McGrath posited.
I think the London based owners of Pegasus were just waiting for a good enough offer to off load the hotel. They couldn't be bothered to compete with the "New Buddy's International Hotel". Also with talks of Marriott Hotels Group wanting to build a hotel in Guyana the owner got scared !!!
US$14M more for CDB Guyana projects (Guyana Chronicle)
CARIBBEAN Development Bank President, Dr. Compton Bourne yesterday said some US$14M in funds is earmarked for more bank projects here, according to the Government Information Agency (GINA).
Opening a three-day visit here to check on the progress of existing CDB projects, the agency said he met President Bharrat Jagdeo at the Office of the President in Georgetown.
GINA said Bourne reported that future project areas were discussed with Mr. Jagdeo during the meeting.
According to the agency, referring to the specific dollar figure for these projects, Bourne said currently it is about US$21M but of that amount US$7M is already being expended on three existing projects which leaves $14M for future developmental schemes.
“We want to use the model of the community projects we have had in places like Parika and extend that model to other communities,” he said, the agency reported.
GINA said that under the US$16M Community Services Enhancement Programme (CSEP), Parika, Charity, Supenaam and Bartica have begun benefiting from infrastructural projects.
CSEP, it said, was developed by the government to improve and prepare the identified areas for township status by focusing on both infrastructural and institutional strengthening.
CDB TEAM: CDB President, Dr. Compton Bourne, centre, and other bank officials at the meeting yesterday. (Photo, courtesy GINA)
“We were thinking that perhaps a dozen more communities to improve the overall services in the communities, so the people have not only more service available to them, but that there would be a stimulus for business activities and employment available to those areas. So I think we have a basis for going forward for the rest of the year,” the CDB President said.
GINA said Guyana has benefitted enormously from CDB funds in areas of much needed technical and economic support for development.
Bourne, it reported, said he wanted to ascertain the government’s view on the progress of existing CDB projects. “I think the general feeling is that those have been going very satisfactorily. Of course, there are always little things to be ironed out but on the whole it has been satisfactory.”
Bourne yesterday visited Parika, East Bank Essequibo, to check on the community enhancement programme there, and is expected to visit the new housing scheme and Diagnostic Centre at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, sea defence projects, and the Hubu Road project, East Bank Essequibo, among other projects.
Also at yesterday’s meeting at the Office of the President, were Head of the Presidential Secretary and Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Ms. Jennifer Webster and Mr. Irfaan Ali, National Project Coordinator of the Ministry of Finance. Over the past four years, Guyana has undertaken several projects with funding from the CDB.
These include the Secondary Towns Development Project, the Skeldon Modernisation Project, the Poor Rural Communities Support Services Project (PRCSSP) - Drainage and Irrigation Component (D&I), Road Improvement and Maintenance Projects and the Basic Needs Trust Fund Programme (BNTF). CSEP was approved by the CBD Board of Directors on July 14, 2005 and is a spin-off of the bigger Secondary Township Project.
GINA said a release from the Finance Ministry yesterday indicated that several projects were completed and implemented under phase five of a Special Development Fund (SDFV) made available by the CDB.
The projects include the reconstruction of sea defence at Profit/Foulis, West Coast Berbice, where two kilometers of sea defence were constructed to protect the coastal zone from flooding, and prevent further salinization of agricultural lands and damage to property, livestock and crops. This project costs over $1B. Another road project consists of an eight km four-lane access road from the Demerara Harbour Bridge to Ruimveldt, and the resurfacing, rehabilitation and rebuilding of roads from the Demerara Harbour Bridge to Best Road, Vreed-en-Hoop.
The US$65M Skeldon Sugar Modernization Project is another example of the cooperation between the government and the CDB, the agency said. The total value of the bank’s loan for this project is about US$28.2M. Additionally, the agency said, CSEP, which seeks to transform Charity, Supenaam, Bartica and Parika to the status of secondary towns, is another initiative between the government and the CDB.
Under the infrastructure component of this project the improvement of 33 km of roads in the four communities, the rehabilitation of Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) offices in Charity and Bartica, construction of a new stelling at Supenaam and a new market at Bartica, among other initiatives, were included. The total cost of the project infrastructure, which was divided into six packages, exceeds $2.5B.
Over the next two days, GINA said, the government and the CDB would seek a general consensus on the programming of resources allocated to Guyana under the SDFVI.
The administration will also be seeking to embark on a solid waste project for Bartica, Supenaam, Charity and Parika, and a Technical Vocational Education Training Programme which includes constructing two new technical institutes in Regions Three and Five, the agency said.
Hmmmm...US$14 million.
Couldn't we see some of that to develop our tourism dreams.
We could have a new airport and still have change to spare !!!
PROJECTS CHECK: President Bharrat Jagdeo and members of his team at yesterday’s meeting. (Photo, courtesy GINA)
GINA said Bourne reported that future project areas were discussed with Mr. Jagdeo during the meeting.
According to the agency, referring to the specific dollar figure for these projects, Bourne said currently it is about US$21M but of that amount US$7M is already being expended on three existing projects which leaves $14M for future developmental schemes.
“We want to use the model of the community projects we have had in places like Parika and extend that model to other communities,” he said, the agency reported.
GINA said that under the US$16M Community Services Enhancement Programme (CSEP), Parika, Charity, Supenaam and Bartica have begun benefiting from infrastructural projects.
CSEP, it said, was developed by the government to improve and prepare the identified areas for township status by focusing on both infrastructural and institutional strengthening.
CDB TEAM: CDB President, Dr. Compton Bourne, centre, and other bank officials at the meeting yesterday. (Photo, courtesy GINA)
“We were thinking that perhaps a dozen more communities to improve the overall services in the communities, so the people have not only more service available to them, but that there would be a stimulus for business activities and employment available to those areas. So I think we have a basis for going forward for the rest of the year,” the CDB President said.
GINA said Guyana has benefitted enormously from CDB funds in areas of much needed technical and economic support for development.
Bourne, it reported, said he wanted to ascertain the government’s view on the progress of existing CDB projects. “I think the general feeling is that those have been going very satisfactorily. Of course, there are always little things to be ironed out but on the whole it has been satisfactory.”
Bourne yesterday visited Parika, East Bank Essequibo, to check on the community enhancement programme there, and is expected to visit the new housing scheme and Diagnostic Centre at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, sea defence projects, and the Hubu Road project, East Bank Essequibo, among other projects.
Also at yesterday’s meeting at the Office of the President, were Head of the Presidential Secretary and Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Ms. Jennifer Webster and Mr. Irfaan Ali, National Project Coordinator of the Ministry of Finance. Over the past four years, Guyana has undertaken several projects with funding from the CDB.
These include the Secondary Towns Development Project, the Skeldon Modernisation Project, the Poor Rural Communities Support Services Project (PRCSSP) - Drainage and Irrigation Component (D&I), Road Improvement and Maintenance Projects and the Basic Needs Trust Fund Programme (BNTF). CSEP was approved by the CBD Board of Directors on July 14, 2005 and is a spin-off of the bigger Secondary Township Project.
GINA said a release from the Finance Ministry yesterday indicated that several projects were completed and implemented under phase five of a Special Development Fund (SDFV) made available by the CDB.
The projects include the reconstruction of sea defence at Profit/Foulis, West Coast Berbice, where two kilometers of sea defence were constructed to protect the coastal zone from flooding, and prevent further salinization of agricultural lands and damage to property, livestock and crops. This project costs over $1B. Another road project consists of an eight km four-lane access road from the Demerara Harbour Bridge to Ruimveldt, and the resurfacing, rehabilitation and rebuilding of roads from the Demerara Harbour Bridge to Best Road, Vreed-en-Hoop.
The US$65M Skeldon Sugar Modernization Project is another example of the cooperation between the government and the CDB, the agency said. The total value of the bank’s loan for this project is about US$28.2M. Additionally, the agency said, CSEP, which seeks to transform Charity, Supenaam, Bartica and Parika to the status of secondary towns, is another initiative between the government and the CDB.
Under the infrastructure component of this project the improvement of 33 km of roads in the four communities, the rehabilitation of Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) offices in Charity and Bartica, construction of a new stelling at Supenaam and a new market at Bartica, among other initiatives, were included. The total cost of the project infrastructure, which was divided into six packages, exceeds $2.5B.
Over the next two days, GINA said, the government and the CDB would seek a general consensus on the programming of resources allocated to Guyana under the SDFVI.
The administration will also be seeking to embark on a solid waste project for Bartica, Supenaam, Charity and Parika, and a Technical Vocational Education Training Programme which includes constructing two new technical institutes in Regions Three and Five, the agency said.
Hmmmm...US$14 million.
Couldn't we see some of that to develop our tourism dreams.
We could have a new airport and still have change to spare !!!
Saturday, 13 January 2007
Friday, 5 January 2007
Ogle airport expansion to be open by March 2006 - President, stakeholders in discuss phase II financing with CARICOM
In effort to make the transport sector more efficient, Government has assisted in the upgrading the Ogle Airport to a Municipal Airport shortly. However, while private financers have funded Phase I at a cost of US$1.5M, the finances for Phase 11 has not been secured.
Today, after a site visit to the runway under construction, President Bharrat Jagdeo said he, along with the stakeholders of the project, have been in discussion with the CARICOM Secretary General to secure funding.
“We had a discussion. We are trying to see if we can get in funded as a regional project through the European Union regional programme. If any of the projects would have merit, this one would, because it would link most of the countries of the Region to the CARICOM Secretariat. So it would be very important, offering services to the whole Region rather than many of the other Regional projects that have an impact only on a specific country,” he said.
The first phase of the Ogle Airport Development Project will involve the construction of a new runway measuring 2,500 ft x 60 ft. The runway is six inches thick and is estimated at about three feet above the surrounding area.
At present all is set for completion of the first phase, Project Manager Anthony Mekdeci told President Jagdeo this afternoon, however, it is being delayed by the rain.
The concrete runway has no surface, but Mekdeci explained that this is better for landing flights, as the asphalted runway spreads after a while because of constant heat.
However, the airport project team is confident that the new runway would be ready for flights by March 2006.
According to Malcolm Chan-a-Sue, who is in charge of Aviation safety and Security, the new Municipal Airport would be in keeping with International Aviation Standards.
Phase 11 of the project, Michael Correia, President of the Ogle Airport Incorporated said, will be completed within a year of the finances being secured. He noted that the CARICOM Secretary General Dr. Edwin Carrington has disclosed that the matter it will be discussed when the CARICOM Heads meet during their next meeting.
However, President Jagdeo expressed concern that it may be too long, giving the set completion of before the 2007 World Cup Cricket in Guyana. The upgrading of the Ogle aerodrome to a municipal airport is said to be a big boost to travel during that period.
Phase II of the project entails expanding the width existing runway to 100 ft and increasing the length to 4,000 ft and 10 inches of concrete, at a cost of US$3M
Additionally, there are eight houselots with 10 households nearby the airport project. This would cause some problem to phase II and the residents have agreed to relocate. Public Relations Officer for the project, Kit Nacimento noted that nearby areas would be developed to house shops and makes the area more attractive.
Another feature of phase II is construction of a terminal at US$500,000. A distance of 1,000 ft. has been catered for on the runway in the event of future expansion, the Project Manager said. On completion of the entire project a 50- passenger aircraft (possibly a Dash 8) can land at the airport, as the terminal will have the ability to process 200 passengers per day. The terminals will be located at the eastern end of the airport with the entrance to the northern end.
President Jagdeo noted that he is very impressed with the project, as from the aerial view it did not seem to have made much progress. However, the site view revealed differently.
In September 2003, President Jagdeo unveiled the cornerstone, to commemorate the project. In August 2002, under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by the Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Mr. Anthony Xavier, Ogle Airport Incorporated agreed with Government on a plan to develop Ogle in two phases over the next five years. The first phase will address mandatory safety improvements required by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and will include a runway parallel to the existing runway, a new terminal facility, development of the hard-standing aircraft taxi and parking areas, new and improved drainage, and improved facilities for customs, immigration, air traffic control and health and fire services. The second phase will convert the First Phase terminal to domestic operations only, and will extend the runway.
The investors of the first phase are Beni Sankar, Yacoob and Mazar Ally, Michael Correia, Anthony Mekdeci, and Gerry Gouveia. When the Airport is upgraded it will accommodate international flights to locations such as Boa Vista, Porto Ordaz, Paramaribo, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. The Finance Consultant is Sugrim Mohammed.
President Jagdeo noted that with the expansion of the Airport, the tourism industry will also expand, and Government has been working to develop this sector.
The design for the airport project was done by Design Construction Services Limited.
Today, after a site visit to the runway under construction, President Bharrat Jagdeo said he, along with the stakeholders of the project, have been in discussion with the CARICOM Secretary General to secure funding.
“We had a discussion. We are trying to see if we can get in funded as a regional project through the European Union regional programme. If any of the projects would have merit, this one would, because it would link most of the countries of the Region to the CARICOM Secretariat. So it would be very important, offering services to the whole Region rather than many of the other Regional projects that have an impact only on a specific country,” he said.
The first phase of the Ogle Airport Development Project will involve the construction of a new runway measuring 2,500 ft x 60 ft. The runway is six inches thick and is estimated at about three feet above the surrounding area.
At present all is set for completion of the first phase, Project Manager Anthony Mekdeci told President Jagdeo this afternoon, however, it is being delayed by the rain.
The concrete runway has no surface, but Mekdeci explained that this is better for landing flights, as the asphalted runway spreads after a while because of constant heat.
However, the airport project team is confident that the new runway would be ready for flights by March 2006.
According to Malcolm Chan-a-Sue, who is in charge of Aviation safety and Security, the new Municipal Airport would be in keeping with International Aviation Standards.
Phase 11 of the project, Michael Correia, President of the Ogle Airport Incorporated said, will be completed within a year of the finances being secured. He noted that the CARICOM Secretary General Dr. Edwin Carrington has disclosed that the matter it will be discussed when the CARICOM Heads meet during their next meeting.
However, President Jagdeo expressed concern that it may be too long, giving the set completion of before the 2007 World Cup Cricket in Guyana. The upgrading of the Ogle aerodrome to a municipal airport is said to be a big boost to travel during that period.
Phase II of the project entails expanding the width existing runway to 100 ft and increasing the length to 4,000 ft and 10 inches of concrete, at a cost of US$3M
Additionally, there are eight houselots with 10 households nearby the airport project. This would cause some problem to phase II and the residents have agreed to relocate. Public Relations Officer for the project, Kit Nacimento noted that nearby areas would be developed to house shops and makes the area more attractive.
Another feature of phase II is construction of a terminal at US$500,000. A distance of 1,000 ft. has been catered for on the runway in the event of future expansion, the Project Manager said. On completion of the entire project a 50- passenger aircraft (possibly a Dash 8) can land at the airport, as the terminal will have the ability to process 200 passengers per day. The terminals will be located at the eastern end of the airport with the entrance to the northern end.
President Jagdeo noted that he is very impressed with the project, as from the aerial view it did not seem to have made much progress. However, the site view revealed differently.
In September 2003, President Jagdeo unveiled the cornerstone, to commemorate the project. In August 2002, under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by the Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Mr. Anthony Xavier, Ogle Airport Incorporated agreed with Government on a plan to develop Ogle in two phases over the next five years. The first phase will address mandatory safety improvements required by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and will include a runway parallel to the existing runway, a new terminal facility, development of the hard-standing aircraft taxi and parking areas, new and improved drainage, and improved facilities for customs, immigration, air traffic control and health and fire services. The second phase will convert the First Phase terminal to domestic operations only, and will extend the runway.
The investors of the first phase are Beni Sankar, Yacoob and Mazar Ally, Michael Correia, Anthony Mekdeci, and Gerry Gouveia. When the Airport is upgraded it will accommodate international flights to locations such as Boa Vista, Porto Ordaz, Paramaribo, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. The Finance Consultant is Sugrim Mohammed.
President Jagdeo noted that with the expansion of the Airport, the tourism industry will also expand, and Government has been working to develop this sector.
The design for the airport project was done by Design Construction Services Limited.
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