Hoping to tap into the current and future demand for stone, local businessman Nazar ‘Shell’ Mohamed is optimistic that his proposed quarry business will be granted all the necessary permits and he promises to commence operations by January of next year if he gets the green light.
“There is this huge demand currently and it will continue for a long time because we haven’t been producing to meet that [demand]. It is why I hope that by January or February of next year…that we will be operational,” Mohamed yesterday told Stabroek News.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday notified the public that applications had been received from Mohamed’s companies ADI’s Kwapau Quarry Areas 1 and 2 and ATANA Quarry Block 1 and 2, for Environmental Authorization. Both operations are located in the Mazaruni River, Essequibo; Mazaruni Mining District 3.
With a number of geotechnical studies already carried out on the proposed areas, Mohamed said that as soon as he gets the necessary authorization from the EPA, he will begin the purchase and importation of the requisite quarry equipment that cannot be sourced here.
“As soon as we get through with the EPA permit, we hope shortly after to get our licence and we will get to work on sourcing and importing the equipment. That process of importing will take some time, he said while pointing to completion and operation by the beginning of next year.
Mohamed said that he believes that given the future demand for stone, every local operator will be able to benefit and sees the competition as good for the industry. “There will be a tremendous demand. You have a number of projects listed by government and then there is private developers,” he said, as he listed the new Demerara Harbour Bridge and a number of road and highways projects.
“There is a lot of work; developmental plans in the pipeline so we have to be prepared to meet that,” he added.
Essequibo businessman Tamesh Jagmohan was last year December granted a quarry licence and had said that by July of this year he would begin operations at the 7,000-plus acres Mazaruni, Region 7 site.
He too had said that he was preparing for the infrastructural development boom from the oil sector coupled with government’s own expansion plans.
Earlier this month, there was a countrywide cement and stone shortage which government attributed to an infrastructural and construction boom which has seen high demand for the items since it took office last year, coupled with the gradual reopening of the economy following a slowdown due to COVID-19.
“What is causing the shortage is the aggressive construction drive that is being pushed not only by the Ministry of Housing but in the national infrastructural development that is going on in the country. The suppliers will have to up their game and fill these orders,” Minister of Housing Susan Rodrigues had told Stabroek News.
“Things did slow down last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic but also now we have seen a return of the housing boom. Construction in the housing sector was on the decline in the last five years and I think a lot of the suppliers were caught by surprise; not only by the plans our government have, but how quickly we have been introducing the programmes since taking office last year,” Rodrigues said.
The Housing Minister had informed that government’s granting of additional quarry licences catered for increased supply as it had taken high demand into consideration.
“We are aware that suppliers are struggling at the moment to fill their orders and this is why government had granted additional quarry licences. And this is why we have ensured that we zero-rate the taxes on construction materials and so on.”
“Measures we have implemented makes it easy for people to build their home and projects and to also make it cheaper,” she added.
With the recent passage of the 2021 national budget, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill says that demand will be even higher as more material would be needed to execute capital projects, worth billions of dollars, earmarked for this year.
Mohammed hopes that with enough local quarries, the country will be self-sufficient in the supply of aggregate and said that his company was working arduously in anticipation of their proposed operational timeframe.
