Businessman Ganesh Jaigobin and his family on Friday commissioned a five-storey hotel at Henrietta, Region Two.
The construction and furnishing of the hotel cost the businessman $200 million and were made possible through a loan from Republic Bank Guyana Limited.
During the commissioning ceremony, Jaigobin said that the opening of the hotel has created employment for 15 persons in addition to the 72 persons who are currently employed at G and P Jaigobin.
G and P Jaigobin was established in 1996 as a retail outlet. Due to the success of the business, a branch of the G and P Jaigobin supermarket was opened at Anna Regina in 2008 to provide a wide variety of services.
Jaigobin, who said he strongly believes in diversification, entered the hotel industry in 2016. “The hotel at Cotton Field was inadequate and with the booming oil and gas industry there would be lots of investors and tourists coming to Region Two and [as a result] we want to be able to provide accommodation to them,” he said.
The 35-room hotel boasts a bar and lounge, and a conference room. There is also an elevator system.
Jaigobin, who has been in business for 25 years, said he is satisfied with the support he has gotten from the present government.
President Irfaan Ali, who was at the opening ceremony, congratulated the Jaigobins for the massive investment and pledged that the government will be providing the necessary support in the form of infrastructure to spur economic development in the region.
Addressing members of the private sector, Ali declared that Region Two will be one of the regions that will be declared as a special development zone and will be rapidly transformed. Some of the planned investments, he noted, includes a state-of-the-art stadium at Anna Regina, a specialty hospital and a call centre.
These investments, he argued, will trigger economic growth and provide more employment for persons in the region. He also said that Region Two tourism sector is budding and many persons will be visiting the region. He also promised improved security in the region.
Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism Oneidge Walrond, who stayed at the hotel, said that she was impressed with the high quality of the rooms. She also said that the rooms matched the standard of those in Georgetown.
Walrond added that Region Two is an up and coming tourist destination and against that background noted that the hotel has been opened at an opportune time. She added that her ministry along with the Guyana Tourism Authority will be working with the private sector in providing a positive environment for them to operate.
Region Two Chairperson Vilma De Silva, who also spoke, said that Region Two is transforming and promised that more roads will be developed.
