Beal spaceport deal sealed
By Robert Bazil
THE long-anticipated signing of the Beal spaceport deal took place yesterday in the Wight's Lane, Kingston Office of Prime Minister Sam Hinds. There was a heavy Police presence in and around the compound, but there was no protest exercise, nor was there any occasion for the lawmen and women to move into action. The historic investment, whose site is in the North West District, is said to make Guyana the first country to have a privately-financed spaceport. Prime Minister Hinds and Mr David Spoede, Vice President of Beal Guyana Launch Services signed the agreement just after 15:00 hours yesterday. The spaceport will employ 500 Guyanese during construction and 200 full-time during its day-to-day operations. Officials of the United States Embassy including Charge d'Affaires Ms Sheila Peters and Mr Henry Bisharat, Political and Economic Chief, witnessed the signing. Mr Hinds, who is also Acting President, said that the successful operation of the Beal spaceport here will immediately, from the day of the launching of the first satellite, place Guyana on the world market as a country recognised and capable of hosting high technology investment enterprises. Initially, Beal will be investing US$100M in construction and about 30 per cent of this will remain in Guyana, the Prime Minister told journalists. "A successful project will generate the creation of high paid jobs directly employed by Beal during the period of construction and after, as well as indirectly, with a variety of local companies providing services to Beal," Mr Hinds said. He stated that a satellite spaceport traditionally brings with it positive international focus on the host country, adding that the fledgling development of Guyana's tourist sector can be greatly enhanced by the positive image and publicity the spaceport will bring to the country. "The Beal agreement is not exclusive. Its successful operation is bound to attract other major players in the space launching industry to Guyana. It will place Guyana in a singular position to negotiate from a position of strength for future spaceports," Mr Hinds maintained. According to the Prime Minister, the Government expects that the project will prove to be a marketing and financial success precisely because of the combination of financial model which Guyana has chosen to negotiate and the unique advantage which the country offers. Pointing out that Guyana has not invested "a single dollar" in the Beal project, Mr Hinds said that thousands of productive acres of generally unproductive land never before commercially utilised, will bring considerable financial benefits to the economy. He emphasised that while Guyana does not have the financial resources for such development, this country has a competitive advantage available only to a few countries because of its position close to the equator which (situation) the Government has sought to exploit for the benefit of the nation. Guyana's positioning on the equator has competitive advantages for the launching of Geostationary (GEO) satellites in particular, as well as Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites because of the enormous savings in the consumption of rocket fuel, he added. Consequently, Mr Hinds is confident that Guyana has the opportunity to attract space companies operating in a highly competitive marketplace. He lamented that the financial model is a critical factor and key determinant in attracting launching companies, noting that because Guyana is unable to build its own spaceport, the Government's policy is to offer substantial and attractive incentives for satellite launch companies to build their own spaceports. The Government and Beal have agreed to a financial model which frees the country from a dependence on the space facility's making a profit. Guyana will immediately benefit from revenue obtained from the sale of land and the recurrent revenue from the rental of land and launch fees. And Spoede said the signing of the agreement demonstrated Beal's long-term commitment to and investment in Guyana. He added that Beal considered numerous sites for this facility; some of which were offered were arguably favourable terms, but the firm chose Guyana for several reasons. "Guyana offers a stable government, Guyana promises enormous potential as a country...in fact there are certain parallels between Guyana Beal," he said. The official explained that Beal is a new company and they (the owners) feel that they have tremendous potential also and want the opportunity of assisting in developing the potential of Guyana. Stressing that the project the agreement covers is a unique one, Spoede said that this is the first and only spaceport in the entire world that is privately financed. Consequently, all risks in the venture have been shifted to the investor; the people of Guyana incur no risk in the agreement; the country has negotiated a deal in which it is obtaining a 21st century spaceport at no cost and no risk to itself. He felt strongly that the project should develop significant benefits to the people and nation, and the most of all the powerful signal that it sends to international investors. In relation to jobs, Spoede said that the overwhelming percentage of the positions the firm will have will be filled by Guyanese. Additionally, indirect jobs will be created by contractors who will be providing services. While Beal believes that the spaceport will provide benefits to the people of Guyana in the areas of training, education and other infrastructure development, it plans to contribute to the University of Guyana in the fields of math, science and technology. "Beal has a proven track record of doing that at all of its locations," he said. The company will be moving to work with local leaders in Georgetown and in Region One to provide advice and to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to begin draining and partial clearing of the site. Beal will also begin work initially to attempt to obtain the permission of the U.S. State Department to export key technological data and products out of the U.S. to Guyana. "We look forward to being new residents in Guyana...a long term company here in Guyana...we ask and hope for the long term support of the people for our company in this project," Spoede said. Several groups and opposition political parties, including the People's National Congress, were against the deal and raised their concerns at various fora. Also at the signing were Local Government Minister, Mr Harripersaud Nokta, Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Mr Vibert DeSouza, head of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-INVEST), Mr Deochand Narain and Chief Government Negotiator in the Beal deal, Mr Edgar Heyligar.
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