This was announced yesterday by Mr. Buddy Shivraj, who sits at the helm of the multi-billion-dollar Shivraj Enterprises which is building the US$8-$10 million hotel.

He said the highly skilled and trained Indian personnel will hold the top management positions among the hotel staff.

He told the Sunday Chronicle that in a few days he will begin hiring some 150 Guyanese to be support staff at the hotel.

There are also reports that several Chinese nationals will be brought from China to work mainly in the restaurants of the hotel.

Shivraj told this newspaper he would prefer not to go into details on the Chinese staff members to be recruited, but noted that he is allowed 20 per cent overseas staff for the 250 room showpiece hotel in Guyana.

He said he wants his hotel to be managed by highly trained and expert workers so that it can live up to expectations of being Guyana’s finest by international standards.

Shivraj said the hotel, scheduled to be opened by January month-end, has already been booked to accommodate teams, officials, media and sponsors for Cricket World Cup 2007.

According to him, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of Cricket World Cup 2007 has already booked all the hotel rooms, since there is a heavy demand for accommodation.

Even with Buddy’s - which will effectively be the country’s biggest hotel - offering the most diversified features in terms of conveniences and entertainment, there remains still a great need for more hotel rooms for the anticipated influx of visitors to Guyana, thus the urgent push for alternatives such as ‘Bed and Breakfast’ facilities.

Shivraj noted that he answered the call of the LOC and the government, when it advertised for expressions of interest in building accommodation for Cricket World Cup.

Buddy’s International Hotel is intended to be Guyana’s first and only four-star-rated international facility.

Located immediately south of the cricket stadium in Providence, the hotel will be six storeys high and the rooms will feature two queen-size beds, chairs, tables, desks, hot and cold baths, television, radio, and other facilities.

One significant feature will be the guests’ option of requesting any room to be customised with electronic/communication facilities.

MANNED PERIMETER FENCE As regards security, each room will be accessed by both keys and electronic cards, issued to bona fide guests of the hotel and all rooms will be serviced by wireless fibre optic facilities, Shivraj said.

In addition, he said, there will be a perimeter fence and manned, surveillance systems to monitor activities around the hotel.

Among other features, the hotel will have two restaurants, an international conference room, a modern discotheque, lawn tennis and basketball courts, a bowling alley and a state-of-the-art gymnasium with trained attendants.

The hotel is the latest diversification of business for Buddy’s (the Shivraj Group) which was first associated with the sale of automobiles, with Buddy’s Auto Sales being a household name.

But this closed in 1995 after a shift in the company’s investment strategy, influenced by a lessened demand for its business.

Buddy’s decided to throw its energy behind recreation, entertainment, food and housing to a population it said craved these things in a packaged way and presented with quality and excellence.

In 1999, Buddy’s Pool Hall opened on Sheriff Street, Georgetown, changing the landscape of Guyana’s entertainment strip. The bottom flat of the five-storey building was designed as a nightclub and opened in 2000, providing a top class clubbing scene.

However, Buddy’s was not done yet. In 2003, a vast chicken farm was established, providing some 1.5 million birds every year since then.

In 2004, the Mei Tung restaurant was opened on the third floor of the Pool Hall, offering an authentic atmosphere to the run of the mill Chinese restaurants. Buddy’s Gym was also established that year and is today’s the country’s largest gym, outclassing the others in the services it offers.

Under construction now is Buddy’s Housing Estate on the East Bank Demerara. It is poised to provide from two-bedroom to four-bedroom self-contained houses.