While announcing plans for the building of a 30,000-barrel oil refinery in Region Six, President Irfaan Ali on Friday also said that development projects slated for the Palmyra area, including the construction of a stadium, would begin before the end of the year.
Ali made the announcements at the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce’s Berbice Expo and Trade Fair, which has returned after a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
The expo, being held under the theme ‘Advancing food security through agricultural sustainability and innovation,’ will run until Monday evening.
Ali, who delivered the featured address at the opening, explained that there are a lot of things presently being worked on which will lead to the transition and transformation of Guyana and he stressed that an integrated pathway to growth, development, and prosperity is being developed.
Touching on the massive development slated for Palmyra, which includes the building of a new ICC standard stadium, he said that they have already approved private sector investment for a new state-of-the-art mall, a new hotel, a recreational centre, a centre for persons with disabilities and a call center. “What has not started will start at Palmyra before the end of this year, that is what we are doing,” he said.
Presently, construction has so far started on the Business Center for Persons with Disabilities at the location. Through a fundraiser, First Lady Arya Ali was able to raise just over $13 million to begin setting up the centre.
According to Ali, the government is working to position Guyana to be a leading force in the world, not only in fossil fuels but also in renewable energy. “…And in all of this Region Six and Five [are] well positioned to be the centerpiece for growth and development,” he observed.
In addition to the refinery project, Ali said the government is evaluating the need for a new Berbice River Bridge that will not “hinder the development of the Berbice River, like we have in Demerara River, that will allow development on both sides of the Berbice River, a bridge just like the new Demerara Harbour Bridge.”
While this is being contemplated, Ali said the government is in the planning stage of expanding the Region Six highway to Molsen Creek in preparation for the new Corentyne River Bridge, which is being done in collaboration with Suriname.
In terms of specific projects which will develop Region Six, Ali said, “We have awarded a contract to expand all the bridges along the main highway here in the first phase to four-lanes, international standard bridges at the cost of more than $5 billion, ninety-nine structures we’ve awarded [contracts for],” he said.
“These are the investment that will lay the framework for the new duty-free zone, for the economic development zone, that would add the impetus to support a deep water harbour here,” he added.
Gains
Ali stressed that the government is doing hard work so that come 2030 and beyond Guyana’s economy will be the strongest, most diversified, most dynamic, and most structurally integrated in the world.
He pointed out, that the government through the Ministry of Agriculture, has increased the production of swamp shrimp from 10,000 kg to 80,000 kg per month over two years.
Presently, the cost of a bucket of shrimp in Region Six averages around $30,000, Ali was informed on Friday at another event in Berbice.
He further disclosed that the government has launched a new project for Region Six and Five where it is converting 200 acres of land for the production of prawns. “In the initial year the prawn production is estimated at 35 tonnes per acre—that is an earning potential of about US$140,000 per acre annually.”
This he said will put Guyana in a position to be a net exporter for the region.
In terms of sugar, Ali asserted that the government cannot afford to have that industry fail, while stressing that they are increasing the investment in mechanization and technology and strengthening the workforce so that the industry will become viable.
Additionally, Ali said, that they are working with the governments of India and Guatemala to bring together a pool of international experts to support the corporation’s management “in transforming this industry and bringing it into viability and eventually to profitability.”
Meanwhile, he stressed, that countrywide investment is being made in infrastructure, human resources, institutional capacity, and the right adaptable technology that will situate and build the country’s economy on a platform to perform at the highest level in 2030 and beyond. “I guarantee you the structure of the economy we are building, the dynamism of the economy that we are building, the diversity of the economy we are building will be so integrated and multi-dimensional that we will be able to compete among the best economies in the world in every structural development that we are pursuing,” he said.
He then pointed out that is important to understand that the country is operating in an environment where climate change is real and it must be ensured that what is built or developed is sustainable and resilient.
He said that the government is working to position Guyana also as a leader in environmental and biodiversity and ecological services, “We cannot speak about the future without understanding that environmental services, and biodiversity services, ecological services will be an important part of the modern economy in the world 2030 and beyond.”
Further, Ali said, his government is also working to put Guyana in a leading position for food production and agriculture, not only in the global scheme of things but to become the leading supplier of food in the Caribbean and Latin America through the deployment of technology, research and development, productivity, training, human resource strengthening and the adoption of the relevant scientific-technological advances that will increase and enhance productivity.
Creating incentive
In terms of the diaspora, the President said that the government wants to create opportunities for investments in Guyana that will make the health and education sectors second to none and in a position to bring persons from the diaspora, “so we are creating the incentive and building infrastructure to support this.”
Touching on technology, Ali said they are working with all the players in that field to make Guyana a hub for ICT services not only for local consumption “but we are talking about becoming an important hub for call centers so we have to reduce the cost of infrastructure, the cost of bandwidth, increase efficiency, reliability…”
Further, according to Ali “we are going to pass legislation as it relates to Guyana becoming a major player in the databank and the data industry… This by itself will create tonnes of new employment at a higher level.”
He then announced that Guyana is working with the UAE government to launch a programme to train 150,000 Guyanese online as coders.
Stressing that his government is working on a very structured clear-cut agenda, Ali said, “We are investing in shade houses, the first hydroponic city in the region will be invested here in Guyana.”
According to him, they were able to negotiate “a 3.5%, a US$100 million loan from Republic Bank to support food production across the region.”
Additionally, he said that the government is investing more than US$120 million in the Guyana Technical Training College in Berbice, “which will train all the technical people required for the economy right here in Berbice.”
Berbicians gathered in their numbers at the Albion Sports Complex for the expo launch on Friday evening – a crowd that was described by organizers as the largest ever seen in the expo’s history.
Also present for the launch for ministers Zulfikar Mustapha, Juan Edghill, Deodat Indar, and Susan Rodriques along with the Chairman of the Private Sector Commission Paul Cheong, Regional Chairman David Armogan and Regional Vice Chairman, Zamal Hussain.
The President of the CCCC Mohamed Raffik also delivered brief remarks at the launch and the chambers awarded the top five national Grade Six students during the packed opening ceremony.
