Negotiations are under way to
determine how long a lease the government will grant the developer of the
proposed redevelopment of the George Town port, Premier McKeeva Bush told
lawmakers Monday.
“Obviously, the developer will want
as long a lease as possible and the government is working to get as short a
lease as possible, hence the reason for negotiations,” Mr. Bush said.
Responding to a parliamentary
question from Opposition member for East End, Arden McLean, on the progress of
the project, Mr. Bush said a memorandum of understanding was signed on 15 April
and that a framework agreement is being negotiated between Dart Enterprises
Construction Company, known as DECCO.
In response to a second George Town
port redevelopment-related question from Mr. McLean on whether the government
was considering selling or leasing Crown property, including the seabed, the
premier said the government had never considered selling Crown property as part
of the deal. He said the government was “in discussions with a private
developer to build piers and reclaim land and there is an agreement to lease
the residual land, which is the land not used or needed for cruise cargo
operations, to the developer for a period of time necessary to allow the
developer to make his investment financially feasible”.
He described the negotiations as
“detailed and highly sensitive”.
The premier explained that the Port
Authority would retain operational control of the cargo and cruise aspect of
the development while the land leased to DECCO would be created as part of the
redevelopment.
The framework agreement includes a
long-term lease of between 21 and 99 years. Analysis into revenue, cost and
risk would determine how much time the company would require to make the
project financially viable, Mr. Bush said.
Once the agreement is finalised,
the development would take between 18 and 24 months, Mr. Bush said.
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