Beal deal to close by mid next month
By Gitanjali Singh
The government in on the verge of consummating a deal with Beal Aerospace Technologies to establish a satellite launch site in the Waini. Negotiations are almost complete and head of the government's negotiating team, Edgar Heyligar, sees closure shortly. "A deal with Beal will be concluded shortly. What I mean by shortly? I do not see closure beyond the middle of next month," Heyligar told Stabroek News yesterday. The estimated US$50 million investment will see a swamp area in the Waini being drained and developed into a satellite launch site comprising a 10,000 foot runway, launch control centre, launch pad, payload processing and vehicle assembly buildings as well as ancillary facilities such as offices, VIP viewing centre and living quarters. Beal Aerospace Technologies, headed by banker Andrew Beal, commenced earnest negotiations with the Government of Guyana in early 1999 to set up a launch site here after it began to encounter difficulties with a similar project on Sombrero Island off Anguilla. The government and Beal were close to a deal in December when at a public forum, a number of persons objected to the proposed deal placing a dampener on the pace of the talks. The objections were to the sale of 26,010 acres of land to Beal as its primary site and there was concern about the possibility of the land getting into the hands of persons who might not have Guyana's sovereignty at heart. Beal recently pulled out its planned US$100 million assembly operations in St Croix because of difficulties in acquiring land there. However, Prime Minister Sam Hinds told Stabroek News last month that he was optimistic about the deal going through as final agreements had been forwarded by Beal to the government. Beal wants to buy 26,010 acres of land and lease a larger amount for its safety buffer. It proposes to employ 500 persons in the short term and 200 persons in the long run. The company is not opposed to investing in the education sector in Guyana and promises that its presence will give Guyana notoriety as it is the first private commercial satellite operation to be spending millions of US dollars in the commercial industry. The investment, based on its opportunity cost (the cost of the foregone alternative), is also viewed as a plus for Guyana and turtle expert, Peter Pritchard, who has been retained by Beal assures that the wild life of the interior and this satellite investment can co-exist. Beal plans to launch its first satellite out of Cape Canaveral, Florida by January 2001.
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