Herman Bern defends his honor and his hotels in Panama
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(panamasol.com) My friend and fellow developer, Herman Bern, sent me an email today in regard to recent articles that came out in La Prensa insinuating that the Miramar Hotel land concession were illegally obtained. I have read several articles over the last few months attacking his hotel properties and their concessions and have intentionally not posted them because they were obviously politically motivated. He is too smart and connected to do something shady. With the attacks escalating he has seen fit to address the issues publicly and what better place to let the wide web world know than right here on my blog.
Here is the most recent La Prensa article in English and below it is Herman’s response:
In April 2007, Herman Bern, president of the Miramar Development Corporation, wrote to Ministro de Obras Públicas Benjamin Colamarco claiming that the Statement of Objections for the coastal expansion failed to mention the “disruptions” it would cause the Hotel Miramar Intercontinental. These included issues with the hotel’s parking, landscaping, marina and heliport.
Not once, however, did Bern acknowledge that the government concession granted to the hotel in 1993 for the operation of the marina and heliport had expired and was never renewed.
Colamarco responded quickly. On May 5, 2007, he drew up an addendum to the Statement of Objections that included a private agreement allowing the hotel to build a tunnel under the Cinta Costera’s new roads to gain access to the marina and heliport and 300 underground parking spaces.
Bern then approached Autoridad Marítima de Panamá (AMP), which had awarded the 1993 concession, negotiating certain “adjustments” to the hotel’s contract because the Cinta Costera project would reduce the land grant from 2.4 to 1.5 hectares.
The Contraloría, realizing that the hotel’s concession is no longer valid, has refused to endorse the new contract with the Miramar, claiming that it should have been arranged at the “beginning of the coastal strip studies.”
According to Second Vice President Rubén Arosemena, a resolution passed in 2005 automatically renews the Hotel Miramar’s 1993 concession.
The resolution to which Arosemena refers, however, contains a clause entitling the AMP to terminate any concession “when the area is required for any reason of public utility or social interest…or to carry out works of the state.”
In such cases, AMP is not required to give any compensation for the property, simply 90 days notice.
Meanwhile, the MOP reports that the Cinta Costera project is 25 percent complete, and should be open in June 2009.
Response by Herman Bern:
In view of recent publications of the Newspaper La Prensa, mounting a campaign causing of loss of prestige against the Miramar Hotel, its proprietor Miramar Development Corporation and its president Herman Bern; regarding its agenda against the Coastal Expansion, we allowed ourselves to make the following explanations:
- In 1992, Miramar Development Corp. #6962 of Inmobiliaria Vismar S.A. acquires lands corresponding to the property, where now stands the Miramar Towers and the Intercontinental Hotel Miramar.
- Previously in this property the Miramar Club existed, constructed around 1910 and later the School Miramar, the School the Salle and Radio Miramar. In the Registry I publish of Panama are the antecedents of this Private property that are originated in 1860 with the Beautiful property Vista # 5568 - 1993. Like part of the Miramar Hotel, the company solicits and the concession of the sea is granted to us, from the then Harbor Authority of Panama for the creation of a marina, recreational breakwaters, aerial parking and of the hotel (at the moment the area of the swimming pool). The concession is for 10 years renewable. This concession is given under the government of Guillermo Endara.
- 1994. The construction of the Miramar Towers and the Miramar Hotel begins with the Intercontinental mark. It is the first hotel that is constructed in Panama after many years of military governments, giving rise to a hotel boom in the city.
- 2003. Before the term of the 10 years, I came, as it says the contract, the request of renovation of the concession. This request appeared under the government of Mireya Moscoso the then director of the AMP, Bertilda Garci’a. This request stayed in this office until the change of government. In 2004, there is change of government. The extension of the concession by the AMP is signed. - When arriving the document at the Contraloría for their countersignature in the 2005, already the discussions had begun on the Coastal road, therefore it is decided to hope the alignment and final affectations of the Coastal road to emit the renovation of the contract of concession of the Miramar Hotel.
- Miramar Development continues making its payments to the day in agreement with the concession, in the hope that the respective documents of AMP and MEF are emitted.
- In year 2007 we discuss and negotiate with the MOP the affectations that the Coastal road in the operation of the hotel will have and marina and reaches the agreement to include in the sheet of the licitation the accesses they will provide to the hotel, marina and also that allows the construction of new parking underground, since the Coastal road eliminated a great part of the present one.
- The new parking concession for the Miramar would occur next the hotel and will be underground therefore eliminating concerns that the Coastal road view would be blocked. The Miramar Hotel will completely assume this investment in underground parking that is considered in excess of $ 4,000,000.00.
- All the documentations, plans, letters, requests, studies, etc. required by the public organizations properly have been given by the Miramar Hotel and we are in the hopes that the respective approvals, will be given as we have fulfilled all the legal exigencies.
In the last week the “journalist” of the Newspaper LA Prensa, Mónica Palm, has dedicated several articles of page one and inner pages to the concession of the Miramar Hotel in which it insinuates and distorts, implying that the Miramar Hotel acted outside the law, saying untruths, suggesting that lands of the hotel and the Miramar towers are concessions of the State. On the part of our company we can assure that we have always acted within the legal and moral framework. At any moment we have had political transparency and openness with all journalists; nevertheless we have noticed that the information provided to the Newspaper La Prensa or obtained by them is used incorrectly. We do not know the dark reasons that the Newspaper La Prensa and its “journalist” Mónica Palm can have in discrediting our company, we only can assume that these are political reasons. As shareholder-founders of the Newspaper La Prensa, we believe in the fundamental values of this newspaper that we created in the freedom of expression we do not understand turning aside intelligence which nowadays we see in this newspaper since it expresses negativism and seems to have more interest in a political agenda than to inform responsibly to the citizenship.
Our function as serious industrialists of this country are to create value and to keep our more than 2500 associates in our companies, working and always operating with high ethical values and morals. We very much lament that this once recognized Daily has decayed to become a political instrument of its publishers with hidden agendas and motivations of unknown nature. In case some of our collaborators or friendly to want to know more information on the subject, Can make their questions to the department of the Public Relations to lchacon@bernhotelspanama.com.
Source: http://primapanama.blogs.com/_panama_residential_devel/2008/06/herman-bern-def.html#more
