The government will today close its offer for the divestment of the Caymanas Park horseracing complex after giving bidders an extra fortnight to be certain they had all the information necessary to make credible bids, according to junior finance minister, Fitz Jackson.

“We extended it (the bid process) by two weeks, beyond the end of last month, to ensure that some technical information that bidders needed was adequately circulated to all interested parties,” Jackson told reporters on Friday at the briefing at the finance ministry’s Heroes Circle offices in Kingston. “So we intend to close on Monday.”

Jackson has responsiblity in the ministry for gaming, including horseracing.

The government announced last June that it intends to lease the track to persons willing to invest up to $500 million to bring the facility up to the standard of modern horseracing parks. All proposals would have to include a schedule of investments for the modernisation of the facility.

Caymanas Park is currently operated by a government-owned company, Caymanas Track Limited.

Dr St Aubyn Bartlett, the Racing Commission’s chief vet, who is also Opposition Member of Parliament for East St Andrew, warned in the House of Representatives on Tuesday that the Opposition may not back government’s efforts to guarantee financial credit for the divestment of racing services at Caymanas Park.

Dr Bartlett said that while the JLP supports the intention to lease the track, because it has long believed that the industry would be better off in private hands,

Opposition MPs would be hard-pressed to support any request brought to the House for a guarantee of credit for the new promoters.

But Jackson said last Friday that there was no intention to guarantee credit for the new promoters.

Bartlett, meanwhile, had told the House of Representatives that concerns about the government’s plan were centred on the lack of communication with the industry about the process, and the denial of opportunities to stakeholders to make an input.

This, he maintained, had led to an “unfortunate” sense of unease over the divestment process.

Another concern, the MP added, was that the improvements needed at the track would mean the immediate spending of “a tidy sum of money”, which could not be recovered from the improvements to the racing product alone.

“There appears to be a heavy reliance on the introduction of a large number of slot machines, as part of the new-style entertainment package,” Bartlett said.

“I support the concept of a racing package, but this cannot be put in the hands of persons with less than the most impeccable record of integrity and management capability,” he said. “We must ensure that the introduction of a concentration of new gaming opportunities will sit well with the surrounding communities. In other words, I would ask that the National Investment Bank of Jamaica (NIBJ) take whatever time is needed to carry out the most rigorous due diligence on each and every proposal received. The impact of the industry is very significant. Its well-being deserves no less.”

Jackson admitted that the new concept would include the installation of a large number of gaming machines. He said that in other places like North America, race tracks also carried gaming lounges.

“Yes, we are not averse to any proposal that would require the inclusion of gaming lounges similar to what is available elsewhere in Jamaica,” he said.