Beal deal will not diminish Guyana's sovereignty - Lall
The land concessions to Beal Aerospace Technologies will not result in a state within a state, says coordinator on investments, Kellawan Lall. A Guyana Information Services (GIS) release yesterday quoted Lall as saying that not the entire area which Beal will have access to will be closed to the public or government regulatory organisations. He also noted that because it is a space project, the area in which Beal would operate will be sensitive and the laws governing the transfer of such technology in the US would have to apply. "Guyana's sovereignty will not be compromised in any way. Access to the site will be availed in a normal procedural way," Lall told GIS. He also assured that the Environmental Protection Agency would have a dynamic role to play in monitoring the environmental effects of the launch process and would have to be satisfied that all would be well environmentally before a permit is granted to the company to operate here. "If they are not satisfied, they will have to enter into further discussions and if we cannot get this or any other organisation to comply with our environmental laws then there is no deal," said Lall. Concerns were raised recently about the amount of land which Beal will have control over. However, it has since been cleared up that only 26,010 acres of land would be sold to Beal. It would have easement to 76,000 as its buffer area but this would not preclude other forms of economic activity.
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