Jamaica
News - Real Estate - Finance (January
19, 2005)
Chinese favoured in last-minute bid for US$23-m Trelawny stadium
The government seems set to by-pass a
recommendation by the National Contracts Commission (NCC) that it award a
US$23.3 million contract to build the new Trelawny stadium to the French
construction firm, Bouygues International, in favour of a late offer from the
Chinese, which includes a US$30 million soft loan for the project, sources say.
At the same time, however, Prime Minister P J
Patterson is expected to announce soon that the government will accept the
contract commission's recommendation that it award the US$18.6 million contract
for the refurbishing of Sabina Park in Kingston to Ashtrom Building Systems, an
Israeli/Jamaican construction firm.
"They (the NCC) have made a recommendation,
but there is nothing further than that," Wayne Reid, the chairman of the
government's Jamaica Cricket 2007, confirmed at the weekend.
The advocates of the greenfield stadium had
vied with the historic Sabina Park for it to host matches during the Cricket
World Cup to be held in the Caribbean in 2007.
While the government supported Sabina's claim to
be Jamaica's premier centre for World Cup matches, it supported the construction
of the new stadium in Trelawny on Jamaica's north coast, which is slated to host
warm-up matches.
Bouyges, which won the franchise to build and
operate Highway 2000, Jamaica's first toll road, was among three firms that had
bid to design and build the greenfield stadium, and last year the National
Contracts Committee recommended the French firm for the job among a list of
contracts it had endorsed.
It also endorsed the granting of the contract to
Ashtrom for the extensive refurbishing of Sabina Park.
While the government will fully finance Sabina
Park's redevelopment, including the relocation of some nearby residential homes,
the government-backed promoters was having to separately raise a mixture of
private capital, as well as loans and grants for the Trelawny Project.
"Much of the funding had been identified and
people were confident in Bouygues track record, not only from its work in
Jamaica but internationally, including the construction of stadia in France and
South Africa," said one source.
The Trelawny multi-purpose stadium is expected
to open new prospects for sport tourism and entertainment in Jamaica's north
coast tourism belt. The returns from this project would help to finance its
construction. A proposed tourism enhancement fee might also help to pay for the
stadium.
However, government insiders say that the
Chinese, who are keen to develop a toe-hold in the Caribbean and see Jamaica as
a jump-off point in the region, have offered a long-term loan, at about two per
cent, for the Trelawny project.
But a requirement of Beijing for the
financing, sources say, is that a Chinese construction company undertake the
job, which would probably mean, at this late stage, that it would have to
purchase Bouygues' design.
Reid, whose Jamaica Cricket 2007 is the vehicle
being used by the government for the country's World Cup preparation, confirmed
a Chinese interest, but declined any detailed comment, suggesting that Patterson
would probably make contract announcements by the end of January.
"I don't think that the government has
made any decision as yet," Reid said at the weekend..
Other senior government officials have also
declined to comment on the development, but were generally concerned about the
potential impact of a delay in reaching a firm decision and awarding contracts.
"Time is beginning to become tight and
something has to be done soon if Jamaica is not to find itself behind the eight
ball," said a government source. "Remember that originally, the
greenfield project should have started last September."
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