KINGSTON, Jamaica — Azurest Cambridge Power (ACP) consortium, responding to its disqualification by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) in a bid for the construction of a 360MW power plant in Jamaica said Friday it regrets the decision but remained committed to the island.

According to the OUR, Azurest failed to produce the required bond by the deadline Thursday, October 3 and was denied a 15-day extension for making the submission.

The following is an abridged release from Azurest Friday:

The Consortium respects the Regulatory role of the OUR in Jamaica, and was pleased to have been short-listed and then recognised as the Preferred Bidder, but feels compelled, as was outlined in its letter yesterday, to outline the negative effect that recent events in Jamaica have had on efforts to close negotiations with our investors within the stated time period..

Immediately after the ACP consortium was declared the Preferred Bidder, certain events unfolded in Jamaica that immediately cast doubt not only on Azurest Cambridge Power’s investors’ ability to fund the project, but indeed on Jamaica as a viable investment destination. There has been a continuing series of public statements and media stories containing misinformation, innuendo and errors that have been disseminated including, but not limited to the following:

• The subsequent barrage of negative, and in some cases, non-factual and mis-leading commentary within the news media about members of the ACP Consortium from a range of sectors in Jamaican society; and

• The stated intent carried in the media 24 hours before the deadline to bring the entire OUR Decision-Making process back to Parliament next week, significantly and negatively impacted our previously advanced efforts and position in the Overseas Investment Community, including with our own investors. Our investors are not immune from the effect of what appears to be a deliberate and perhaps organized opposition to the selection of the ACP Consortium.

• As we work toward providing Jamaica with an effective energy solution, the Consortium has been tirelessly counteracting the climate of skepticism and risk among foreign investors that is associated with Jamaica’s CCC+ credit rating. The various statements made within the last 72 hours with respect to this entire process and our Preferred Bidder status has made the job of securing foreign capital even more difficult, and with the Consortium being denied this crucial extension, Jamaican consumers may have been subsequently robbed of the most viable solution to their energy needs.

Despite the negative environment that has been created, the Azurest Cambridge Power consortium has been successful in creating enormous interest in the International Investment Community in this project. However, as a result of the above circumstances, the majority of investors with whom discussions were held, have asked for additional time to review the situation in Jamaica, the risk of their involvement at this stage of the process and the overall investment climate in the country.

It is under these circumstances that the consortium formally applied for an extension of 15 Business Days for the submission of the Consortium’s Proposal Security. This would have been sufficient time for ACP’s investors to conclude their due diligence and risk management efforts with respect to this project. Azurest Cambridge Power is confident that given this additional time to mitigate the problems associated with the aforementioned issues it would have been able to meet the conditions of The Proposal Security.

This Consortium was selected as the Preferred Bidder in the first instance, because it offers the most affordable plan: one that will guarantee Jamaican consumers and Jamaican industry the most substantial savings. ACP does do not believe that Jamaica deserves to be saddled with a default alternative – which does not amount to a solution to the country’s chronic energy problem.

Azurest Cambridge Power remains resolute in its commitment to providing an energy solution for Jamaica, and will continue its efforts to secure the investment capital in order to do so. In the coming days and weeks ACP also intends to work hard, both locally and internationally, at dispelling the unfortunate reputation that has been created around this bidding process, around the Consortium, and especially, around Jamaica as an investment opportunity.