Rashleigh Jackson backs Beal deal
by Wendella Davidson
FORMER Foreign Minister, Mr Rashleigh Jackson yesterday came out in open support of the proposed rocket launch project in the north west as the government continued open discussions on the scheme. Jackson, a long-serving Foreign Minister under the previous People's National Congress (PNC) government, attended and spoke at the first official public forum on the proposal by the Beal Aerospace firm of Texas to set up a rocket launch base here. The PNC and other groups have expressed reservations about the plan and the government and the company have been trying to address these and other concerns. Support for the project which involves putting satellites into space also came yesterday from Mr Norman Whittaker, Chairman of the Barima/Waini District, who attended the forum with a delegation from the launch site region. Jackson endorsed the proposed project saying Guyana can benefit from technology transfer through Beal and looked forward to seeing how the firm would interface with the wider society in this area, for instance, with the University of Guyana. He was applauded by the gathering when he suggested that Whittaker or another representative from the site area should meet people in other parts of country so that they can be convinced that "what the government is doing is right." Whittaker, giving a regional perspective of the issue, said residents of the region welcome the project. At the forum, Prime Minister Sam Hinds who holds overall responsibility for the Beal Aerospace deal negotiations, urged Guyanese to turn a new leaf and seek to forge partnerships. He told participants at the Ocean View International Hotel/Convention Centre, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, that an overwhelming majority of Guyanese want the country to move forward. The Government was also committed to taking its people forward in the new millennium and in the era of globalisation and liberalisation, he said. "Now is the time that we (Guyanese) can try a new slate, try a new leaf...can't we develop with partnership, aren't there people out there that we could develop with partnership?", the Prime Minister asked in a closing statement, to which the audience responded with resounding applause. Others present included the government's chief negotiator in the talks, Mr Edgar Heyligar; Mr Peter Pritchard, environmental expert; Mr Kellawan Lall, Chairman of the Go-Invest agency and Mr Deochand Narain, Director of the agency; Mr Cecil Durjohn, Chief Parliamentary Secretary and Ms Denise Fraser of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). From Beal Aerospace Technologies there were Mr David Spoede, Vice President, General Counsel and Government Relations; Mr Walter Lewis, Vice President, Business Development; Mr Wade Gates, Corporate Affairs Director and Production Supervisor Mr Bennie Lee. Mr Hinds assured that contrary to the feeling among some, "due diligence" is exercised in the proposed agreement, adding that there are a number of provisions to protect the deal. Among them is reversing the sale of the portion of land if no adequate construction is in place in five years. In addition, if any sale is contemplated by Beal, Guyana must be informed, the Prime Minister explained. Spoede said that under the proposed agreement with the Guyana Government, Beal Aerospace plans to build the world's first "truly" commercial launch site, but without financial aid from the government. Remarking that the project will be a great honour for the people of Guyana and Beal, he said space ports bring significant economic impact to the countries in which they are located, such as opening up new job opportunities; attracting other high-tech industries; expanding the economy and creating new infrastructure, among them airports and buildings. Stressing that the project will not "remove anything from Guyana", the Beal senior executive added that other benefits include improvement in tourism and business travel. The company's interest is in building markets to launch commercial satellites, Spode said, noting that its primary market is commercial communication satellites. He said the market has undergone dramatic changes in the last 10 years and the prediction is that about 1,700 new satellites will be launched within the next 10 years. International competition for the business was also growing, he pointed out. According to Spoede, the rocket type Beal will use is a BA-2 "heavy lift class vehicle, a simplified design for reduced risk and for which the only emissions are oxygen, water and traces of carbon dioxide, at seventh hundredth of a pound per second." He said the project will have no effect on the ozone layer and there is a half-mile buffer between the site and the nesting place for beach turtles in the north west. Guyana, according to Spoede, is an ideal rocket launch site because of its nearness to the equator. Because of the remoteness of the chosen location, the site can be used without any environmental impact, he said but pointed out that no site is a perfect location and Guyana is no exception. In justifying the company's request for the land, the Beal official said it is as a result of their pride of ownership and the desire to make a permanent investment in Guyana, among other concerns. Touching on the contentious issue of security, he assured that the Guyana Defence Force will play an integral part in the security arrangements. Spoede said he has met Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Major General Joe Singh on the issue. Among others making presentations were Lewis and Pritchard and during the open discussion, Heyligar, Narain and Fraser assisted in providing answers. 
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