GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC — Guyana has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the construction of a US$90-million 289-room hotel.

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministerz, the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) Chief Executive Officer Dr Peter Ramsaroop and the chairman of TOTALTEC Oilfield Services, Lars Mangal, recently signed the MOU for the tourism venture that will be situated in East Bank Demerara.

TOTALTEC is an integrated oil and gas service company which was founded to support a major discovery by the US-based oil giant, ExxonMobil, in the mid-Atlantic margin offshore Guyana. TOTALTEC has recently launched its academy to recruit, train and develop Guyanese workers for careers in the oil and gas industry

“This is just a tangible expression of the confidence that investors have placed in Guyana, and we are quite excited that we have one of the hotels that we have promised. We have the branded hotels ready to go, and this is quite an exciting time,” Walrond said.

More than 25 Guyanese contractors and suppliers are expected to be involved in the execution of the work, which will bring significant spin-off benefits to hundreds of Guyanese.

“We see it as a great opportunity for Guyana to build further local capacity in terms of supporting multiple sectors; first and foremost, the tourism sector but we also see this as an opportunity to support the very dynamic and fast-emerging oil and gas sector as well,” Mangal said, adding that investments will also be made to train staff to serve in the hospitality and catering departments.

“The oil and gas sector is one area where we are continuously striving and looking to place more people and build more capacity locally. The intent of this project is, of course, to continue to support local development in terms of having more Guyanese suppliers and contractors involved in very unique high-tier development projects,” Mangal said.

He said it is further aimed at, “decommissioning more and more activities from happening outside of Guyana and bringing them onshore to Guyana, to be supported by Guyanese working with Guyanese in Guyana”.

The 289-room hotel will include the 161-room Hilton Garden Inn and 128 suites. It will feature a variety of on-site dining options, conference facilities, a pool, and 24-hour fitness facility.

A government statement said that the investment comes after an Expression of Interest (EoI) was advertised by the Guyana Government.

It said the project is led by 658 Guyana Holdings and managed by 1503 Partners, who are joined by TOTALTEC Oilfield Services Guyana Incorporated and GREC Investment Group as key stakeholders.