Chinese Government to fund ACCC repairs

Telecommunications and Tourism Minister, Cathy Hughes, has disclosed to the media that the maintenance and repair works to be carried out on the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC) will be funded by the Chinese Government.
According to Hughes, this is in keeping with the China Government’s promise of a gift to the Guyana Government many years ago.
The minister said that the Chinese Government will be expending US$7 million to assist with the works that are to be carried out, starting in December.
“Chinese established that there are some structural problems with the centre and therefore in keeping with their gesture, in giving this centre as a gift and their ongoing role in its maintenance, they offered to have the repairs done to a tune of US$7M,” Minister Hughes stated.
She said too that China has always played a key role in the functioning of the facility, since giving the centre to Guyana: “The Chinese Government has had a very close role in the ongoing maintenance of the conference centre, they gave us extensive facilities and as you know, a lot of the equipment in the conference centre is Chinese and therefore it was absolutely necessary that when we look at the maintenance of the centre, they have always played a very strategic role.”
Another section of the media had published recently that the funding for the repairs was coming from the Government, and as such suggested that the monies should be spent in other areas.
Addressing this, Hughes said that the money given for that specific purpose from the Chinese could not be used for other purposes.
The minister clarified: “This is a grant that is specifically based on China’s relationship with the centre, it is not part of our larger financial arrangement and grant funding that the Ministry of Finance handles in terms of funding that we are getting for expansion of several other areas of concern and therefore the option for the funds to be used for something else does not exist at all.”
Minister Hughes took the opportunity to further praise the Chinese Government for their contribution, highlighting that for last year alone, the centre was able to bring in over $60 million for rentals alone.