Local quarry operator and businessman, Nazar ‘Shell’ Mohammed, has declared that from 2025 he will be able to supply at least one million tonnes of aggregate annually following an agreement he signed with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).
The agreement came as stone demand continues to increase with some businesspersons now importing from Jamaica.
“We are going to have our first blast next week and can commence supplying boulders for sea defence projects and things like that. In the meantime we are setting up the machines; the crusher and others. But we signed an agreement with CHEC where we are committed to supplying one million tonnes of aggregate by 2025,” Mohamed told the Sunday Stabroek.
“We will gradually increase and the target this year is 200,000 tonnes. The one million [tonnes] will be in effect from about the beginning of 2025. It is our hope that as there is an increase in production and we can meet the supply needs in Guyana and that we would have contributed to the importation stopping” he added.
On Thursday last, Mohamed signed an agreement with the Regional Business Manager of CHEC, Sammy Chan and announced the commitment to supply the company with one million tonnes of aggregate annually.
In April of last year, Mohamed announced that his Hadi’s World Inc quarry operation in Region Seven was signing a US$25 million agreement with CHEC to execute the works there.
It followed a report by this newspaper in March of 2021, on Mohamed’s plans, and back then he was optimistic that his proposed quarry business would be granted all the necessary permits. Mohamed had told this newspaper that he wanted to commence operations by January of 2022, if he got the green light.
The next day, BK International registered its objection saying that the areas granted overlap acreage it had already applied for and prospected on.
BK then moved to the High Court in June to seek an injunction against what it said was a Guyana Geo-logy and Mines Commis-sion (GGMC) decision to award 16,502 acres of land in the Mazaruni Mining District to Hadi’s World Inc. for quarrying operations.
This newspaper understands that the two sides are still resolving the issue but that the area where works are currently ongoing for Mohamed’s operation does not fall into the disputed area.
With regard to those operations, Mohamed disclosed that preparatory works have been completed at the location and that the company had to shell out millions of dollars of its own money to dredge the river to enable access to the area and make for smooth logistics in getting the aggregate to the city. “We spent US$400,000 to dredge the channel… we will be ready soon”, he said.
The businessman expressed his eagerness to contribute to help meet the six-million-tonne demand that government has informed it needs for infrastructural projects countrywide.
Sourcing
Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, noted that persons have responded to government’s call to supply stone and some of them are sourcing the commodity from Jamaica.
“The ministry and government had indicated that we needed stone and crusher run. That went out by way of public ads. Companies from Guyana have engaged in the procurement and delivery of stone to Guyana at a particular price. Some of them were buying from Suriname but some are now buying from Jamaica. People who responded to our public ad are bringing in stone and some is from Jamaica,” Edghill told the Sunday Stabroek.
Edghill said that although some quarries have increased their capacity, it is still not enough and that while some others may have the potential, transportation seems to be an issue. “They have increased their capacity and it is still not sufficient enough to meet the current demands for aggregate and crusher run. The basic thing here is not only being able to find the stone, it is the logistics. The biggest issue in the supply of crusher run in the supply; the barging. That is the issue and the issue is the logistics,” he said.
Efforts to get figures on production and current demand and supply trends from large-scale quarry operators here proved futile.
The Sunday Stabroek reached out to local large quarry operators, Toolsie Persaud Limited, and BK International. Toolsie Persaud’s representative would not confirm or deny the shortage and pointed this newspaper to someone in management. A commitment was given to follow up with the reporter but up to press time no calls had been returned.
Over at BK International, staff there said that only the Chief Executive Officer, Brian Tiwarie, could speak on the issue. Messages and calls to his number proved futile.
Since the discovery of oil in 2015, the cost of stone gradually increased and spiked in 2021. And since then, the prices have continued to increase with Edghill saying that some persons are charging up to $10,000 per tonne.
Government had attributed the steep increase to the infrastructural and construction boom that has seen high demand for such building material since it took office in 2020. This, it noted, can be coupled with the gradual reopening of the economy which had seen a slowdown due to the restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Preparations ongoing at the Mazaruni site
