John Fernandes Limited (JFL) will soon be reaping the benefits of a mobile harbour crane (MHC) at its port facility in Georgetown.
A release yesterday from the Ministry of Finance informed that JFL had signed a US$4 million corporate loan agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-Invest for the procurement of a mobile harbour crane (MHC) for use at its port facility.
IDB Invest is the private sector arm of the IDB. Its aim is to advance economic development and improve lives by encouraging the growth of the private sector. It offers an array of investment opportunities and provides its clients with customized financing solutions and expert advice, tailored to their specific industry and market.
The signing was overseen by Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh during a virtual ceremony.
Once the MHC is in operation, JFL will benefit from an increase in the quantity of international cargo handled at its ports. The IDB pointed out that currently, all port operations in Guyana rely on crane vessels for loading and discharging containers and these are less efficient and have less cargo handling capacity than an MHC. As such, by incorporating the services of an MHC, JFL would be able to service gearless vessels that can carry a substantially greater amount of cargo and do so more efficiently due to the MHC’s ability to load and discharge containers at a higher rate. Further, not only will the MHC support increased cargo handling capacity from the current 33,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (“TEUs”) containers per year to 100,000 TEUs per year, but it will also improve the port infrastructure in Guyana and contribute to timely and efficient handling of rising international commerce in the country.
In his remarks during the ceremony, Singh thanked IDB-Invest for showing commitment in investing in this private sector project which not only allows for development of port facilities generally in the country but is also a sign that the financial institution “is showing serious interest in quickly and aggressively assisting in Guyana’s development in more ways than one.”
The minister referred to a similar loan agreement with IDB-Invest signed in October at the same cost with Muneshwers Limited for the procurement of Guyana’s first mobile crane. He commended both John Fernandes’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Philip Fernandes and the IDB Group’s Country Representative, Guyana (Acting) Lorena Solorzano Salazar for the fast pace at which the agreement was finalised.
JFL and Muneshwers are currently the only two port facilities in Guyana that will have a MHC.
Last month, during his year-end inspection of GRA’s operations at wharves, Singh highlighted that clearance of consignments would further be improved with the addition of two mobile cranes to be operated by John Fernandes Limited and Muneshwers. “These pieces of equipment will form part of the further modernization of operations at the wharves,” Dr Singh opined.
