THE Guyana Government is moving apace with its bid to import some twenty BMW luxury vehicles next month to be used during the upcoming Rio Group Summit in March and the major Cricket World Cup (CWC) tournament to be hosted here in April.

According to Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon, the 20 BMWs are scheduled to arrive in Guyana before the end of February.

BMW International is one of the official sponsors of the CWC 2007 tournament, the world’s third largest sporting event which will be held in Guyana and eight other Caribbean countries during March and April this year.

BMW sponsorship required that every host country buy at least 30 of the BMW luxury cars. Another condition was that the cars be imported into the country duty-free which means the government stands to lose millions of dollars in revenue.

The Guyana Government had initially delayed its decision on whether to import the vehicles or not, as it tried to explore other options, none of which were available. The President had explained that the government did not opt out of the deal but changed the terms.

This ‘change’ resulted in the Government being allowed to import a minimum of 20 vehicles, instead of 30.

Following Government’s decision to import the vehicles, President Bharrat Jagdeo had said the BMWs will serve a dual purpose, as they will be used to transport Heads of Government and other officials during the Rio Group Summit, as well as ICC and CWC officials during the Group matches in the tournament to be played here.

The Guyanese Head of State told reporters at his last media briefing that since the government was getting tourist buses and other vehicles, only 20 BMW vehicles were required, and not 30 or 40 as some of the other CWC host countries were acquiring.

This newspaper also understands that the government’s initial apprehension about the offer concerned objections by local dealers who do business with manufacturers of ‘cheaper brands’ of cars. They claimed too that only one dealer stood to benefit.

President Jagdeo said the local dealer wanted the government to import the vehicles and waive 75% of the taxes, or some $400 million in taxes, which "would have led to a windfall to their dealer here."

He said the government instead opted to buy the vehicles and sell them back on the local market, "with the taxes”, which will ensure that the cost of the vehicles plus taxes will be recovered.

He also said the vehicles would be sold to Guyanese on a ‘bid system’ after the CWC tournament. .

The Chronicle understands that the Series 3 and Series 5 BMWs, which are expected to cost the Government in excess of US$30,000 each. The vehicles will be mostly black.