President Bharrat Jagdeo met with a team of Lethem businessmen on Friday and will be travelling to Region Nine in the next couple of weeks when it is likely that the long–awaited Takutu Bridge would be provisionally opened.
The team discussed several issues in the brief meeting and the President says that he will discuss these further when he travels to the Region in the coming weeks, delegation member Daniel Gajie said. He said that among the issues discussed was the Takutu Bridge and the President indicated that the finishing touches on the multi-purpose building are being put in place and preparations are ongoing for a provisional opening of the bridge.
The President indicated that he wanted to visit the region to see the developments that have been taking place. According to Gajie, one of the areas that the President has indicated that he wants to “fast-track” is the industrial and commercial zones in Lethem. Gajie, who is a past president of the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), disclosed that 23 persons had sent in their proposals for the commercial zone while seven proposals have been received for the industrial site.
Meantime, in a press release, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said that the team and the President discussed issues relating to the business community in the area. “With the impending opening and use of the Takutu river bridge, there will be great movement of goods, vehicles and people between Lethem and Brazil. The bridge will allow us to export Guyana’s products for the first time to North Roraima (in Brazil) initially and then farther south into Brazil. This will allow a lot of products that we only had markets for in North America and Europe.
These products will now be exported into Brazil generating income for the manufacturers and the persons here in Georgetown,” GINA quoted Gajie as stating.
The businessman told GINA that development of the commercial area which encompasses about 67 plots started about three years ago and is spearheaded by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC).
There is also another area of about 70 acres that is targeted for industrial development and this venture is being undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, the release stated. It noted that the meeting also focused on possibilities that would allow easier export and the prospect of attaining essential utilities including electricity, water and proper roads. Electricity in Lethem has been problematic and last Friday shortly after being fixed, the major generator in the community broke down once again. This newspaper was told that electricity in the community is currently being supplied by the smaller generator, and there has been load-shedding as a result. A technician from Georgetown is supposed to be deployed to the area.
“The meeting also explored investment possibilities and shared other ideas that would assist in the further development of Lethem”, GINA said.
The Takutu Bridge, which links Guyana and Brazil, has been completed but is not yet open to traffic and the government has said that it will not be until all necessary systems are in place in both Guyana and Brazil. Brazil has already put in place the necessary systems and the Governor of Roraima State had previously declared the bridge open but this was not accepted by Georgetown as an official act.
GINA said that Govern-ment is continuing to work towards the necessary inputs for the opening ceremony of the bridge. The Bridge will be officially opened when both President Jagdeo and Brazil’s President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva are available but a provisional opening is likely to be done before the official opening.
