By Akeem Greene
The Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) and the Jack Nickalus Golf Design group have inked an agreement for the construction of a state of the art golf facility worth $20 billion and could see construction commence as early as the first quarter of 2019.
For months, LGC President Aleem Hussain has been touting massive developments for golf in the coming year.
At the launch of the Guyana Open, there were hints that foreign investors are interested in designing a state of the art facility in Guyana.
Hussain, speaking at a Sports Tourism conference hosted by the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) on Friday noted, “Today we have come to the fruition of those discussions.
“When Jack Nickalus decides to do a project in any part of the world, it draws tremendous worldwide attention. For the first time in the Caribbean, the group will sign an agreement with our group in Guyana with the intention of building a brand new golf facility which is not just a gold course but a whole lifestyle community”.
Steve Rowan, Managing Director of Earth & Marine Environmental Consultants, explained the parameters at arriving at the cost and the rationale for the proposed location on the East Coast of Demerara.
“As any large projects such as this, there will be phase developments and we are looking well in excess of $US100 million as a total development cost but part of the cost depends on the mix of assets we develop as part of the wider development.”
He further noted, “We are targeting 500 acres around the Ogle, La Bonne Intention district because as this transformation in Guyana takes place with the oil, Georgetown is going to grow substantially.”
Based on the weather patterns in Guyana, the experts stated the golf course aspect can be completed in 18 months.
Additionally, Roddy Carr, a representative of the group, explained that Nikalus is enthused by the prospects of Guyana as a developing golf nation.
“He [Jack Nikalus] was very excited about coming to a country that is starting its journey in golf. This is going to be a world-class golf course capable of hosting class events if and when it is ready but also the agenda is to facilitate creating a lifestyle resort that would be home to many of the people that would come and live here.”
He added, “It is really the start of what they did in Dubai when the oil struck there, they started to cater to build an infrastructure that can cater for the people that were going to come and live. We look forward to setting the bar higher than anything else in the Caribbean.”
Nickalus is an American retired professional golfer. Many observers regard him as the greatest golfer of all time. During a span of more than 25 years, he won a record 18 major championships while producing 19 second-place and 9 third-place finishes.
