Morgan's Point developers have jumped ahead of the queue in getting Government assistance with their financing aspirations.And the Government is applying double standards with respect to issuing sovereign guarantees to investors.This according to developer Michael MacLean who is rankled by Finance Minister Bob Richards' announcement that he may approve a sovereign financial guarantee that could be as high as $125 million for the Morgan's Point luxury resort project.The former Progressive Labour Party administration was set to provide a sovereign guarantee to support a $15 million bridge loan for the St Regis hotel project in the City of Hamilton, but the new administration has refused to proceed.Instead, Government plans to bring legislation which would allow the Corporation of Hamilton to provide such a guarantee.Still, Mr Richards' announcement on Morgan's Point has left Mr MacLean feeling discriminated against.“I had a sovereign guarantee on the table that was much less than Morgan's Point. They decided not to continue with what the PLP had started,” he said.He added the news of the Morgan's Point guarantee had prompted his investor to call him and say he had been “disadvantaged” by the new Government.“I feel discriminated against,” Mr MacLean said. “This Government refused to move forward with the guarantee.”Government had told Mr MacLean shortly after the election that the country's debt situation ruled out moving ahead with his guarantee.“I approached members of the party and asked them if there's something they can do, they tell me flat out 'no'. The Government's got too much debt and they weren't going to move forward with it.”Mr Richards stressed last week that a guarantee for Morgan's Point was only being considered because potential investors had been shying away from the project because there was pollution on the 240-acre, brownfield site.That's an argument Mr MacLean is not buying. Government is cleaning up the site at taxpayers' expense and the developers have noted that the pollution — most of which is on the Government-owned areas of the property and not on the 80 acres owned by the developers — is a lot less than originally feared.It is expected that the clean-up will be completed by the end of the year.Mr MacLean argues that if the pollution is deterring the investors, then the solution is to complete the clean-up.“When the land is clean, where does the $125 million go? It doesn't go toward the clean up, it goes toward attracting investors,” Mr MacLean said.But he said he was not against Government issuing a guarantee for the project.“I endorse the government giving a guarantee. Its going to create employment there and I may get a job,” the construction boss said.“What I'm saying is the Government takes a guarantee from me and gives it to a project that is not even ready to break ground.“My site is ready to go, and I'm not even asking for as much money.”Mr MacLean heads up Par-la-Ville Hotels and Residences Ltd, the company developing the $350 million project to build a hotel and residences in the City of Hamilton. He has been seeking a $15 million bridge loan in order to secure a full financing arrangement which would allow the project to proceed.“One can only feel suspicious,” Mr MacLean said. “You throw my guarantee away and give another party something much larger.“The reason I got (for rejecting the guarantee) was the debt. So has the debt gone? Well put mine back on the table. Don't treat me like a stepchild.”He added that Government's actions add fuel to speculation about how it conducts business.“They can't make one set of rules for one group of people and another set for another group of people,” he said.“I'm not going to say its race or anything. It makes no difference why they did it, the fact is they did it.”And he said he understood the nature of deal making in the business world.“I know these things happen, but all I'm saying is don't forget about the little people because the little people put you in power.”Morgan's Point Ltd is headed up by Craig Christensen, Brian Duperreault and Nelson Hunt.The Finance Minister's announcement raised some eyebrows as private-sector guarantees are rarely given, and some observers have noted that one of the key principals of MPL is SAGE Commission chairman Mr Duperreault, an appointee of Mr Richards.Mr MacLean is of the view that Government should wholeheartedly embrace sovereign guarantees for investments in hotel developments and other major projects.“If we want to get the economy back to the way it was, it's not going to be one project,” he said. “What's needed now is an infusion of foreign capital, so if the Government is minded to do sovereign guarantees then they need to consider other projects. And work with developers so there is some sustainability as it were.”He argued that borrowing $800 million to service the debt was a “real problem” given Bermuda's size.But risking taxpayers' money to drive investment for several projects was a much better proposition.But he added that Government should exercise enough oversight to ensure that the guarantees bring a return to Bermuda that exceeds the investment.“If you risk $200 million to get $2 billion or $3 billion then you're doing good. That money circulates in the economy.”But it is not clear what Government's policy is toward issuing sovereign guarantees.Mr Richards' announcement last week, while insisting any guarantee to MPL should not be taken as a precedent, also noted that Bermuda's competitors were “doing a great deal” to attract foreign investment for hotel development.“Some governments are going so far as to guarantee the debt in order to finalise the acquisition of the required financing for the project.”The Finance Ministry had not responded to a request for comment by press time last night.