Prospects for transforming Essequibo into a key tourist hub are likely to be significantly enhanced with the completion of the $89 million Supenaam Waterfront Development Project, the centerpiece of which is expected to be the remake of the existing stelling facility to house a range of modern conveniences.
Conceptualized to provide a far more pleasing welcome than currently obtains for visitors to Essequibo, the project, which is expected to commence in May and to be completed by December will embrace significantly upgraded facilities that will significantly enhance the quality of passenger accommodation whilst services will include snackettes and stores for visitor convenience. Apart from significantly upgraded vehicle parking, the project will also embrace the upgrading of the surrounding area with emphasis on improved lighting and major environmental enhancement.
The project is being executed by the firm, Samaroo Investments with operations in both Georgetown and on the Essequibo Coast.
Strategically envisaged as an infrastructural development that will create an enhanced incentive to lure visitors to Essequibo, the Supenaam Waterfront Development Project is being seen as possessing the potential to unlock the gateway to what has long been seen as the range of tourist attractions in Essequibo including its lakes and historical monuments. When Stabroek Business visited the Essequibo Coast last week, public officials there including Essequibo Chamber head, Deleep Singh and Samaroo Investments CEO Doodnauth Samaroo were upbeat about the prospects which the project holds for enhancing visitor arrivals to the region.
Stabroek Business understands that an April 10th community consultation exercise attracted significant local participation and animated discussion on the prospects which the project holds for significantly improved visitor arrivals at the Mainstay Resort as well as the Mainstay and Capoey Lakes, the various creeks and monuments, the Dutch Bell at Kabakaburi and the August Essequibo Regatta. With the envisaged increased movement of visitor traffic across the Essequibo Coast and into the region’s tourist areas residents are already talking about the need for the existing airstrip at Mainstay to be upgraded and reactivated to accommodate commercial flights.
With the completion of the Supenaam stelling project and the anticipated increased movement of visitors to Essequibo, businesses on the coast are also anticipating increased patronage for the twenty hotels with their more than 250 rooms along the Essequibo Coast, between Supenaam and Charity.
