Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Gail Teixeira left Guyana yesterday for Barbados to present Guyana's Bid Book to host World Cup Cricket matches in 2007.
According to a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA), prior to her departure to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, yesterday, Teixeira expressed confidence in Guyana's chances of winning a bid. She said there was no doubt that Guyana would be an excellent venue for any of the World Cup cricket events. "It's about time Guyana showed what it can do when it's mobilized," she said.
Teixeira also disclosed yesterday that the 2007 World Cup Committee has now been made a legal Public Utility Company, awaiting the decision of the 2007 World Cup Cricket (WCC) Committee to sign for the coming agreements.
According to the release, she noted that cooperation for the presentation of the Bid came from all sections including the private sector and the Government of India.
During February last year, Teixeira collected Guyana's Bid Book which specified guidelines for proposed venues, policy decisions, some 690 pieces of legislation and 24 requirements by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
With the assistance of a local 2007 WCC Committee and help from Indian specialists, Guyana's bid is now ready to be presented to the ICC, after which a verification team is expected to visit Guyana at the end of the month to access its readiness, the release stated.
Guyana's Bid team comprised Teixeira, chairman; Chetram Singh; Norman McLean; Minister of Works Anthony Xavier; Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manzoor Nadir; Navin Chandarpal; Ronald Austin and Dr Faith Harding of the PNCR; Majeed Hoosein and Mr Tiwari of the PPP/C; Komal Samaroo; Mr Robinson, Oscar Phillips and Stanford Solomon from the private sector and Bishwa Panday and Terry Holder from the Guyana Cricket Board. Phillip Allsopp was the Bid Preparation Manager.
In anticipation of Guyana being chosen as a host venue, assistance was sought from the Indian government to erect a stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara. The US$20M facility is to be realized through a US$6M grant from the Indian Government and a US$14M soft loan. Meanwhile, approximately $78M has been released in preparation for the stadium.
The release stated that over 100,000 visitors are expected for the World Cup and US$5B should be gained in revenue.
The Bid Book will be presented to the ICC through PriceCooperWater- House in Barbados and the decision on the host countries for WCC 2007 will be made on July 6.