The House of Representatives passed two bills on Tuesday, facilitating the completion of the divestment of Caymanas Track Limited (CTL) to Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL).

The bills establish a regulatory framework to attract and support investment in Jamaica’s horseracing industry, and facilitate the development of Caymanas Track into a modern world-class racing complex. They also facilitate the granting of exclusivity by both the Betting, Gaming & Lotteries Commission and the Jamaica Racing Commission.

The signing of the agreement between the government and SVL was originally delayed when Minister of Finance and the Public Service Audley Shaw attempted to close the debate earlier last month, and opposition MPs asked for more time to review the bills.

However, on Tuesday Shaw had no such delay, as the Opposition had already walked out of the House in protest over the issuing of a statement from Prime Minister Andrew Holness on the $600-million bush/mitigation programme.

Shaw reminded the House on Tuesday that the two bills – the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Act 2016 and the Jamaica Racing Commission (Amendment) Act 2016 – were required to grant the promoter a licence to carry out track betting in prescribed geographic areas, as well as to give the minister authority to grant a licence to operate a racecourse in respect of an exclusive geographic area.

Closing the debate on the bills, Shaw maintained that the main policy objective was to provide legislative support for the granting of geographic exclusivity with respect to the licences.

“Significant and additional capital outlay is required by the investor, as what is intended by the Government is the development of Caymanas Track into a modern world-class racing complex,” he explained.

He stated that this would include unplanned spending for the upgrading of the facilities, such as the overhaul of the sewer system, the erection of an incinerator and much-needed enhanced security arrangements.

“There is also the matter of the establishment of a horse clinic in keeping with international best practices. Much of these upgrades have not even been quantified as yet,” Shaw said.

He said that existing regulatory breaches committed by CTL included breaches of licence terms under the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Act and the Jamaica Racing Commission Act, and breaches under the National Environment and Planning Agency Act.

“All of these breaches are now expected to be remedied by the new operators of Caymanas Track Ltd,” Shaw said.

He also explained that instead of the 30-year exclusive licence which was being sought by SVL, the government had agreed to a 15-year exclusivity.

The finance minister said the preferred bidder had requested a 30-year period of exclusivity; “however, 15 years is recommended and this period is intended to allow the investor to recoup his investment free from competition”.

“Whilst this may seem like a significant time, an assessment will be done at the end of the exclusivity period and decision made based on the prevailing conditions at the time,” Shaw said.

The final terms have been negotiated for the long-term lease of Caymanas Park in St Catherine and the sale of all personal property owned by Caymanas Track Limited to Supreme Ventures Limited, the preferred bidder.