Questions abound over mega investments by Bai Shan Lin

…Govt promoting company without full disclosure

The Government is keeping closed, the arrangements it has with Chinese company, Bai Shan Lin, which has announced massive investment plans here.
The company has been granted a forestry concession that amounts to close to one million hectares of rainforest, from which it plans to extract logs and ship them out of Guyana. The company estimates that it will make US$1,800 from each hectare of land, giving it profits totaling US$1.7 billion.

The proposed Bai Shan Lin Mall

In addition, it has been granted permission to dig up a 20-kilometre stretch of river to look for gold.
Other plans include setting up what it is calling a Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Corporation Park plus a 400-acre real estate development.
The plans were announced last November by Chu Wenze, the chairman of Bai Shan Lin, at the Second World Congress on Timber and Wood Products Trade in Taicang, China.
Those plans were announced even before Guyana knew of it. The country became aware of what was happening only when Bai Shan Lin officials visited Guyana and held discussions with President Donald Ramotar and other Government officials.
Strange enough, Mr. Chu Wenze named President Ramotar, former President Bharrat Jagdeo, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Ministers Robert Persaud and Irfaan Ali, along with Ambassador to China, David Dabydeen, as part of its promotion team.
The nature of the agreements the government has with Bai Shan Lin has not been shared with the public or the National Assembly.
Bai Shan Lin is part of a group of 11 companies which have been granted permission to operate in Guyana.
The state information agency, GINA, reported that Bai Shan Lin has been in Guyana over the past eight years with operations through the Bai Shan Lin Forest Development Inc., Haimorakabra Logging, Karlam South America Timbers, Wood Associated Industries, Kwebanna Wood Productions, Sherwood Forests, Bai Shan Lin Housing Construction, Mining development Inc., and Bai Shan Lin Ship Building and Heavy Industries Inc.
It has been contended that the law does not allow one logging company to take over another, unless the President so agrees. However, reports are that Bai Shan Lin took over operations of the concession of Demerara Timbers Limited without this permission.
The law stipulates that forest concessions must not be traded, but that it was to be re-advertised by the Guyana Forestry Commission and be open for bidding.
Bai Shan Lin plans to set up its exhibition centre at Providence, East Bank Demerara.
Earlier this year, the company had sought 1, 000 Guyanese workers for its wood processing operations in Region Ten.
Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission, James Singh, has said that by July 2013, construction machinery/materials, such as, concrete mixers and steel framing for the factory will be in Guyana.
Construction is scheduled for a 2015 completion, he said, with US$60 million in financing secured.
He said that the Linden Wood Processing Factory will be an integrated factory, beginning with log/lumber intake and resulting in the large-scale production of high-end furniture; flooring (parquet, multiple layered, outdoor quality); veneers; doors; mouldings; finger jointing and lumber, among others.
However, he has not given any timelines by which Bai Shan Lin intends to move into the different phases of its operations.
However, James has dodged several questions by researcher Janette Bulkan. For example, he has not said what raw materials would be used at the wood processing facilities. Bulkan had asked about species, dimensions, volumes, and quality of timbers.
According to Singh, Bai Shan Lin has 180 local workers who function in various capacities. He admitted that the ratio of Guyanese workers to Chinese workers is currently high because of the need for the critical expertise in this start-up phase.
However, the company has committed to employing an additional 200 Guyanese by the end of 2013, which would further increase the percentage of Guyanese employed to 74 per cent. By 2017, Singh said the ratio of Guyanese to Chinese will be 85:15.
The Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Corporation Park has been announced by Bai Shan Lin as a state-level park programme in which there would be national subsidy for loan interest. Further, the company stated that in the park would be entitled to “subsidy for carrying back resource.”
The company said that under the Park arrangement, it would provide preferential forest tenure, land price for plan construction and the enterprise may also co-establish a joint company with Bai Shan Lin.
Bulkan has called on the Natural Resources Sectoral Committee of the National Assembly to ask serious questions of the Ministry of Natural Resources and GFC and Bai Shan Lin.

________________

where is the furniture CITY?  Or is a Furniture Sh!tty they building?

KN = Tabloid.

Glen = Shameless.

Goods Smuggling, Human Smuggling, Taking Electricity, Defaulting in taxes, the list goes on and on.

Polar Beer scam

Pradoville

Skeldon

Etc

Questions abound over mega investments by Bai Shan Lin

 

 

…Govt promoting company without full disclosure

The Government is keeping closed, the arrangements it has with Chinese company, Bai Shan Lin, which has announced massive investment plans here.
The company has been granted a forestry concession that amounts to close to one million hectares of rainforest, from which it plans to extract logs and ship them out of Guyana. The company estimates that it will make US$1,800 from each hectare of land, giving it profits totaling US$1.7 billion.

The proposed Bai Shan Lin Mall

In addition, it has been granted permission to dig up a 20-kilometre stretch of river to look for gold.
Other plans include setting up what it is calling a Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Corporation Park plus a 400-acre real estate development.
The plans were announced last November by Chu Wenze, the chairman of Bai Shan Lin, at the Second World Congress on Timber and Wood Products Trade in Taicang, China.
Those plans were announced even before Guyana knew of it. The country became aware of what was happening only when Bai Shan Lin officials visited Guyana and held discussions with President Donald Ramotar and other Government officials.
Strange enough, Mr. Chu Wenze named President Ramotar, former President Bharrat Jagdeo, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Ministers Robert Persaud and Irfaan Ali, along with Ambassador to China, David Dabydeen, as part of its promotion team.
The nature of the agreements the government has with Bai Shan Lin has not been shared with the public or the National Assembly.
Bai Shan Lin is part of a group of 11 companies which have been granted permission to operate in Guyana.
The state information agency, GINA, reported that Bai Shan Lin has been in Guyana over the past eight years with operations through the Bai Shan Lin Forest Development Inc., Haimorakabra Logging, Karlam South America Timbers, Wood Associated Industries, Kwebanna Wood Productions, Sherwood Forests, Bai Shan Lin Housing Construction, Mining development Inc., and Bai Shan Lin Ship Building and Heavy Industries Inc.
It has been contended that the law does not allow one logging company to take over another, unless the President so agrees. However, reports are that Bai Shan Lin took over operations of the concession of Demerara Timbers Limited without this permission.
The law stipulates that forest concessions must not be traded, but that it was to be re-advertised by the Guyana Forestry Commission and be open for bidding.
Bai Shan Lin plans to set up its exhibition centre at Providence, East Bank Demerara.
Earlier this year, the company had sought 1, 000 Guyanese workers for its wood processing operations in Region Ten.
Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission, James Singh, has said that by July 2013, construction machinery/materials, such as, concrete mixers and steel framing for the factory will be in Guyana.
Construction is scheduled for a 2015 completion, he said, with US$60 million in financing secured.
He said that the Linden Wood Processing Factory will be an integrated factory, beginning with log/lumber intake and resulting in the large-scale production of high-end furniture; flooring (parquet, multiple layered, outdoor quality); veneers; doors; mouldings; finger jointing and lumber, among others.
However, he has not given any timelines by which Bai Shan Lin intends to move into the different phases of its operations.
However, James has dodged several questions by researcher Janette Bulkan. For example, he has not said what raw materials would be used at the wood processing facilities. Bulkan had asked about species, dimensions, volumes, and quality of timbers.
According to Singh, Bai Shan Lin has 180 local workers who function in various capacities. He admitted that the ratio of Guyanese workers to Chinese workers is currently high because of the need for the critical expertise in this start-up phase.
However, the company has committed to employing an additional 200 Guyanese by the end of 2013, which would further increase the percentage of Guyanese employed to 74 per cent. By 2017, Singh said the ratio of Guyanese to Chinese will be 85:15.
The Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Corporation Park has been announced by Bai Shan Lin as a state-level park programme in which there would be national subsidy for loan interest. Further, the company stated that in the park would be entitled to “subsidy for carrying back resource.”
The company said that under the Park arrangement, it would provide preferential forest tenure, land price for plan construction and the enterprise may also co-establish a joint company with Bai Shan Lin.
Bulkan has called on the Natural Resources Sectoral Committee of the National Assembly to ask serious questions of the Ministry of Natural Resources and GFC and Bai Shan Lin.

 

 

________________

 

where is the furniture CITY?  Or is a Furniture Sh!tty they building?

Yugi22, why is the Government is keeping closed, the arrangements it has with Chinese company, Bai Shan Lin, which has announced massive investment plans here?

The company estimates that it will make US$1,800 from each hectare of land, giving it profits totaling US$1.7 billion. How much of that is invested in the Guyanese economy?

Mr. Chu Wenze named:

President Ramotar,

former President Bharrat Jagdeo,

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds,

Ministers Robert Persaud and

Irfaan Ali,

along with Ambassador to China, David Dabydeen,

as part of its promotion team.

What is the nature of the agreements the government has with Bai Shan Lin that has not been shared with the public or the National Assembly?

German consultant questions integrity of GFC’s log tracking

GFC Commissioner, James Singh

Despite lauding the systems it has in place, the Guyana Forestry Commission says instantly tracking a log harvested in Guyana for export poses significant challenges. This is according to the second Independent Forest Monitoring report which was conducted by the GFA consulting group out of Germany earlier this year. According to the report “currently, challenges may occur when attempting to instantly trace logs or lumber when these are accompanied by transshipment permits, custody forms, clearance passes, bills of sale, invoices, or dispatch documents.” According to the German company, there is scope to develop an improved methodology as well as a more robust system to effectively manage and synthesize all documents utilised in the chain of movement; e.g. by storage and by requiring that removal permit numbers are strictly referenced on all documents used for transportation of forest produce. According to the German company, when it comes to the GFC, “There is a general need for improved coordination of summaries and databases.” The company pointed to the data management systems of the Timber Sales Agreements (TSA) for logging, and said this must be addressed to properly reflect re-entry, roll over and advanced blocks for each company to assure consistency, accountability and easy access to block information. The German group also advocated for the strengthening of the design of the SFP database in order to facilitate verification of quotas, particularly when SFPs are being issued at some point during the year, instead of at the beginning of the year. It was found too, that environmental records are not part of the general summary of information on TSAs compiled by GFC. The group recommended that consideration be given by GFC to developing a separate system of record keeping for this information. GFC’s head, James Singh, in a recent marathon press engagement had lauded the robust tracking system in place by that body, but the report has found that much more needs to be done to ensure integrity. GFC has stated under its National Wood Tracking System that the monitoring of wood flows requires the identification of critical control points at different locations within the supply chain, as well as the monitoring of stages and processes that affect the state of the asset as it moves through the chain. “The first control point will be the source of timber and the allocation of logging rights followed by data gathering through pre-harvest inventory… Essentially, the latter will involve mapping standing trees and gathering specific metrics data such as species, size and quality as well as determining tree location.” Under the wood tracking system used, the GFC says that official tags with unique numbers are affixed to both the stump and the log. The process follows throughout the forest and processing operations, monitoring timber as it transforms and flows through the supply chain, and reconciling data gathered at each of the individual control points. “The GFC gathers information at all the supply chain control points, processes the data gathered and automatically reconciles it with data gathered at previous control points, identifying any errors or anomalies that are found in the data.”