Kaieteur Falls guesthouse to be privatised
Proposals accepted for eco-lodges
Stabroek News
January 26, 2003
The Cabinet has approved a plan to privatise the government guesthouse at Kaieteur Falls and the Ministry of Tourism is looking at the construction of a number of eco-lodges in the area.
Minister of Tourism Manzoor Nadir also announced that a developer had been granted a concession to develop “a water park in the Timehri area, and a concession has been approved for the construction of an Olympic-size swimming pool at a particular site at Timehri.”
At a press briefing in the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce boardroom on Friday, Nadir disclosed that on Tuesday Cabinet approved immediate plans for the privatisation of the state-owned guesthouse at Kaieteur Falls.
In addition, he said that approval had been given for some 10 acres of land to be set aside for tour operators who wanted to build eco-lodges there. The location of the ten acres would be determined after a site visit. He said the immediate plan for Kaieteur Falls was to build eco-lodges which would cater for overnight and longer stays. These plans could be obtained from the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-INVEST).
He said that already the ministry had received one proposal last September for the development at Kaieteur. However, he said that the ministry felt that the way to proceed with the development of the area was to present a programme to Cabinet. The ministry also felt there was a need to advertise the project so that other persons would be given an opportunity to present their proposals and there would be no accusations of a lack of transparency.
Nadir said that the development of the Kaieteur Falls would not be on the scale of the Niagara Falls, but there was need for more persons to visit the Kaieteur National Park. He said that Kaieteur Falls will be promoted as a nature and eco-tourism destination.
Noting that Kaieteur and Orinduik Falls are generally offered in one tour package, he said plans were also in train to provide electricity at the guesthouse which was built there by the government in 2001. In other projects, Nadir said work on the construction of a number of benabs at the Number 63 Beach would be completed before the Easter holidays. The access road would be further upgraded.
Work too, he said, would be completed at the Lethem rodeo site where plans are underway to wire the area for 24-hour power supply.
Asked about the effects of the current crime situation on tourism, Nadir said that crime has had an adverse effect on tourism and investment, but that the country could not wait for a return to normalcy and should press ahead with development.
He said tourism had seen a significant decline during the last quarter of 2002.
Nevertheless, he said Guyana had to go after the market and he hoped to set a record number of visitor arrivals of about 115,000.
