Govt will only sell Beal 26,010 acres -official By Gitanjali Singh Guyana Chronicle November 27, 1999 The Guyana Government has only agreed to sell 26,010 acres of land to Beal Aerospace Technologies of Texas to set up a satellite space port in the Waini district, a senior government official said yesterday. The official further stated that the company is to be granted a 99-year renewable lease for the non-exclusive use of the additional 76,000 acres it requires for a buffer zone. The firm had wanted to pay the government for "easement" for exclusive use of the buffer area which would have brought over 100,000 acres of land under its direct control. However, the government has not agreed to this but will instead grant a long-term, renewable lease which does not prohibit other types of economic activity within the buffer zone. The official said the company will buy the ten acres needed for the remote tracking site as well as the 26,000 acres it will use as its primary site (nerve centre) because of the substantial investment (estimated at US$50 million initially). However, the official stressed that while negotiations are as of now completed, the agreement the government will enter into with Beal Aerospace is subject to a number of provisions including the granting of an environmental permit by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The source said that the paper agreement is needed as two other major hurdles have to be overcome before an official arrangement can be entered into. The paper agreement is needed for the company to push its case at the US State Department to get the green light to transfer satellite technology to Guyana. The company also has to secure political risk insurance to invest here. Without the EPA permit, there is no deal, the source said, noting that the same would hold if the US State Department refused to grant the approval for satellite technology to be transferred to Guyana or if the company was unable to secure its political risk insurance. In the last two weeks, a number of questions had been raised about the deal and the People's National Congress is seeking a meeting with the government to clear the air on its concerns. The Working People's Alliance and the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) have also called on the government to be more open and consultative in its approach to this investment. The senior government official who preferred not to be named yesterday assured that the army will be involved in the process and denied that access to the interior will in any way be affected by Beal's operation. The government is also doing its own due diligence of the company, the official assured. The source also said that because Beal intends to launch its satellites over sea, there is no real cause for alarm if there is any malfunctioning, adding that the rocket fuel consists of 85% hydrogen peroxide which breaks down cleanly. Asked what will accrue to the government in net benefits, the official said the government will get a fee for every satellite launch, it will get a fee for administration; the country will benefit from employment and linkages and it will be on track to securing the kind of investment needed to assist in its development. Beal Aerospace will also be paying farmers within the buffer site to relocate. This is expected to be done at market value. Meanwhile, a number of civic organisations and concerned citizens met on Thursday to discuss the proposed satellite investment including Guyana is First, GHRA, the Guyana Association of Professional Engineers, the Guyana Organisation of Indigenous Peoples and Conservation International. The groups agreed that the government should not enter into any agreement with Beal unless: * there is full consultation with the parties in parliament, civic organisations, the GDF and communities occupying the territory in question; * the proposed agreement is made public, laid in parliament and adequate time given for its study, debate and approval; * there is full compliance with the requirements of the EPA. The groups said they favour the granting of a renewable lease to Beal and not the sale of substantial land as this will allow for monitoring of the company's operations. "The country would need strong assurances that the facilities, rights and interests given to Beal would not vitiate the nation's sovereignty and create a state within a state," a release from the meeting said. It also urged that the benefits to the nation in the short term be worth the concessions granted. A © page from: Guyana: Land of Six Peoples