Beal here for promotional campaign
by Gitanjali Singh
Officials of Beal Aerospace Technologies flew in last night for a promotional campaign of its operations and to start negotiations with the government on setting up a satellite launch site in Region One. Wade Gates and David Spoede, Director of Corporate Affairs and Government Relations respectively, are scheduled to meet all media houses today to discuss their operations. The Beal officials are also to meet the opposition parliamentary parties: the PNC, the WPA and the TUF, as well as four non-governmental organisations before leaving by the weekend. Those non-governmental organisations are The Amerindian Action Movement of Guyana (TAAMOG), the Guyanese Organisation of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP), the Amerindian's People Association (APA) and Conservation International (CI). These meetings come on the heels of the government having its own private discussions with the media last Thursday and with residents of Region One (Barima/Waini) over the weekend. The efforts to gain support for the investment gained momentum after letters appeared in the media, urging the government to move forward with caution with this satellite investment, given that it could have implications for the turtle population on Shell Beach. Beal officials have suggested that an area next to the third lagoon in the Waini would be ideal for the proposed investment and the government team last weekend spoke with residents in the area. "People indicated to us that they would be willing to relocate. They also expressed a desire to have this investment as it would mean a better way of life for them," Deochand Narain, Director of the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) stated yesterday. Guyana at one time was the fall-back plan for Beal, as at that time it was pursuing Sombrero Island, off the British dependent territory of Anguilla, for its launch operation. However, that investment was not pulled off owing to concerns about the environmental impact assessment study findings, which suggested that 70 per cent of the nest of the mask booby would be destroyed by the satellite launch operation. However, this was not what deterred the investment so much as the lack of response by the British government to Beal. Beal wants to establish a satellite launch site in Guyana and plans to assemble the rockets at St Croix and ship them here. Initially, it will be negotiating details for the launch site with the government, and not satellite launches which will be more technical and time consuming. The government is very keen on having this investment, which has been generally recognised as being good for the country as it would definitely put Guyana on the world map. The government is willing to make the necessary concessions to ensure that it does not lose this investment without compromising the environment. Apart from turtles, the area under consideration is also home to tigers, deer and different species of fish, birds and crabs, among other animals.
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