Even as it mulls other investments within the manufacturing and construction sector, the Trinidad and Tobago-headquartered ANSA McAL Group of Companies has announced plans for an 82-acre wharf and laydown yard at Wales on the West Bank of Demerara and is conducting a feasibility study for a brewery.
“The Group acquired 82 acres of land in the Wales, West Bank Demerara region and will begin the development of a wharf and laydown yard within that acreage to facilitate port and marine commerce,” the Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Sabga III, told attendees on Friday at an event to celebrate 30 years since the company’s establishment here.
“In addition, the Group is currently considering significant investments within the manufacturing, construction, real estate and beverage sectors,” he added.
A dollar value for the investment was not given but Country Manager Beverley Harper later told the Stabroek News that it would be “multi-million US dollars investments.”
She disclosed that the 82-acre property was purchased from a private land owner at Wales. Structural, soil, and environmental studies have been conducted, and a number of additional probes are ongoing.
Wales is the site for major development plans by the government including a gas to energy plant.
Attendees at the event included President Irfaan Ali; Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh; Minister of Tourism, Oneidge Walrond; Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Charles Ramson; members of the opposition and a cross-section of persons from private sector and business bodies.
Sabga told government that not only has his company, as a corporate citizen, paid a huge sum in corporation, VAT, and other taxes over the years, but it has no plans for reducing the amounts because the company takes its responsibilities seriously.
“Our focus is not simply about making profits. We are driven by our purpose to Inspire Better Choices for a Better World. Building on a proud Caribbean 140-plus years legacy, we have decided that the growth of our business should be aligned with the sustainable development goals related to the sensitivity to the natural environment, societal well-being and good governance,” Sabga declared.
With Guyana’s construction boom, another immediate plan would be moving one of the company’s regional plants to these shores to open opportunities for jobs and training for locals.
“Any non- Guyanese that will be brought in will only be for the sole purpose of training and then for a Guyanese to be in that role,” Harper explained as she, too, echoed Sabga’s figure of a 98% local workforce which the company only sees growing. Currently, ANSA has 400 full-time employees.
In Sabga’s address, he hinted at the company having its own brewery here in the near future, but did not go into much detail.
He noted that Guyana Breweries Inc (GBI) was the most recent addition to the company’s Carib Brewery Sales and Distribution network. GBI, he said, was singularly focussed on the sale and marketing of Carib Brewery’s range of products in wholesale and retail establishments across Guyana.
Being the local dealer for Suzuki vehicles, the company’s automotive sector has observed a 15% growth, according to Sabga.
Overall, the CEO underscored that Guyana has always been key to the company’s investment plans, since the genesis of its operation here in the 1960s when his grandfather, Anthony N Sabga, established trading and commercial relationships, before the merger with McAL.
Following the merger with McAL, the company registered a local company here in 1992 and the then Executive Director, Paul-Chan-a-Sue was lauded for his contributions to building the company to what it is today.
Sabga noted that since 1992, ANSA McAL has expanded significantly and pushed ahead to create shared long term value, “broaden our customer base, improve customer experience with quality products and deepen our dealer partnership network.
“As a result of the encouraging signs, we have increased manpower, management, rental space and promoted the launch of our construction equipment business – BURMAC”.
On Friday, the Country Head and current CEO were singled out for their respective stellar contributions to the company and especially in the area of human resources.
Harper, attendees were told, has always inspired the staff to educate and train themselves, and financed their upward mobility with company resources, and sometimes even her own. An example was cited of a long- serving staff member who had complained that they were being bypassed for promotion. When it was found that they did not have a required educational component, she paid for CXC classes and examinations out of her own pocket. “Ms Harper, we are very grateful to have you…,” a company representative said.
Sabga pointed out that with Harper and CEO Troy Cadogan at the helm of operations here, the company need not worry about its staff and interests being in good hands.
He also vowed to continue ANSA McAl’s expansion here. “I wish to affirm unequivocally that we are ready and remain poised to deepen our partnership with the government and people of Guyana in this exciting phase of development. We are proud to be part of the landscape of a progressive country that recognizes the importance of building economic resilience through early diversification, investing in human capital and institutional capacity as well as managing its natural resources to assure sustainable development.”
He added, “I echo the sentiments of my grandfather in 1992 which remains relevant today: Guyana is a good place to be and a good place to invest.”
