-CARICOM ferry project still to set sail
Guyana requires a holistic plan on the waterway transportation needs for this country and President Irfaan Ali has tasked five of his ministers along with technical teams to conduct an analysis so that his government can aptly plan for the future, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill says.
This initiative, according to Edghill, is separate from the CARICOM-planned ferry service and a private sector project under the Connect Caribe consortium. “A group has been established… to be able to get a full understanding of what our waterway transport needs would be for the future. Whether it would be for movement of people, tourism, export/import activities, and other uses such as supplying building materials throughout the country,” Edghill told Stabroek News last week.
Those in the group are Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hugh Todd; Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh; Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Charles Ramson Jnr and Edghill. He said that technical teams will assist the ministers as they assess current and future demands for waterway transportation as that mode becomes critical in the country’s developmental agenda.
“Guyana is developing a number of sectors where water transport will have to evolve where tourism, agriculture, manufacturing… all these are sectors that will need it because it plays a key role and shipment and transport logistics will become an important part,” he explained. “The deep water port reality that interlinks the Guianas and Brazil and so on, all of that have to be considered,” he added.
And given that Guyana is already part of a partnership agreement with Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados to operate a ferry service out of Parika, Edghill was asked how the proposed plan factors into this.
“This what we are doing is what is required for Guyana. With our CARICOM partners we are dealing with that separately,” he pointed out. Addressing the opening ceremony of the 12th annual Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) consultation with Caribbean Governors, in February of this year here, Ali had said that he hoped the service would begin in about three months. A high-level meeting was held in Trinidad two weeks prior, and all sides had two months for the completion of pre-clearance procedures for immigration, customs, and plant quarantine, and to make the ferry service a reality as soon as possible. The ferry was intended to allow for the movement of containers and passengers, with the potential to boost trade relations and advance food security efforts. No further progress has been reported.
Ali had said that the aim is also to bring on board the regional private sector to implement similar initiatives to enhance areas of supply chain and logistics. “We have launched the first phase of this. In another two, or three months, that ferry will begin operations, and we are hoping that this will instill confidence in the private sector, and for the IDB investors, this is an excellent opportunity to bring a regional consortium together.” The Guyana, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago initiative saw the setting up of a “working group with ministers and the technical people” as plans were forged to make that project a reality.
Ali, in May, had also told the Stabroek News that technical assessments and a gap analysis were on schedule to be completed by the end of June. With Hurricane Beryl bringing much damage and disruption to Barbados, it is unclear what impact it had on the project in that country. He had also said that to complement a planned agro-processing plant in Bonasika, and give farmers in Region Three access to regional markets for their produce, the expected regional ferry service plying the Trinidad, Guyana and Barbados routes will dock and operate from the Parika Stelling.
“We want to get the bananas into the regional market and the good thing about here is that we could export directly to CARICOM from here. You don’t need to transport to Georgetown and all these places. That is why we are pushing so hard to get the regional ferry because the regional ferry will operate out of Parika so that we can have all of these production from these islands integrated into the regional market,” the President had told residents of Bonasika, Region Three during a visit. “So what is it we want to do now? First of all… [We will] launch in this community, a group of young people and women, the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Innovation programme. We’re going to launch that programme here,” he added.
Complement
But while CARICOM states are working to put together their regional ferry plans, so is the Caribbean private sector consortium – Connect Caribe. In January of this year the consortium was upbeat that they would be able to secure the US$50 million needed to make a modern regional cargo and ferry service a reality by the end of 2024. Connect Caribe’s planned service was intended to complement CARICOM’s planned regional transport system, its partners said.
“We have done this in a synergistic approach with CARICOM,” Chairman and Founder of Pleion Group Inc., and Upturn Funds Caribbean, Dr. Andre Thomas had said when the initiative was launched. “Our intention, with all things being equal, is that the service will begin at the end of this year. We believe that will be realistic. As soon as we are in a place where we have enough control of the variables, we will announce when the projected dates of the service will start.”
At the recently concluded Caribbean Investment Forum held here in Guyana, Thomas, Lead of that project and Chairman and Founder of Pleion Group Inc. and Upturn Funds Caribbean, which forms part of consortium, made a presentation echoing much of what he had said but informing that next week there will be a stakeholders’ consultation on the project in Barbados. Thomas told Stabroek News that the project has already secured funds but he does not want to go into detail, and if more information is needed, this will be had at the consultation overview set for July 23rd and 24th. At that meeting, he said that representatives from CARICOM’s Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) will be present and he will “tell everything there needs to know about the project to the stakeholders.”
He made clear that he was not seeking funding as the project investment sums are already secured and also noted that none of the investors are from Guyana. “This is not about money and, no, none of the investors are from Guyana,” he said. Key players in the joint venture are Thomas who is also Chief Executive Officer and Founder of The Caribbean Israel Leadership Coalition (CLIC); Chairman of Upturn Funds New York, Raphael D’ Angelis; CEO of Windward Ferries Limited, Tore Torsteinson; President of Ramps Logistics, Rudy Rampersad, and founder of the Anthony Hinkson Consultancy, Anthony Hinkson.
Thomas shared an overview of what the sessions would be, “This consultation will convene key stakeholders from the maritime industry and supporting sectors where Connect Caribé will roll out key components of the cargo, e- commerce, and travel platforms.
In tandem, critical discussions will be held around the sub-theme: Connect Caribé Solution for Transporting Goods and People within the Caribbean where contributing panelists take a deep dive into facets of the industry that present existing challenges with the view of closing the gaps that would affect the optimization and effective roll out of the newly created maritime logistics corridor,” it states. “Day 2 focuses on examining how the integration of Connect Caribé’s e-commerce platform with maritime logistics, can empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to reach new markets, optimize supply chains, and drive economic growth across the region.
An integral part of Day 2 will feature demonstrations on how to access and leverage Connect Caribé’s E-Commerce marketplace platform. Day 2 will be at a nominal fee of $50 Barbados,” it adds.
Thomas posits that the project and vision cannot become a reality without the participation of a critical mass of stakeholders being onboard. “At this event we are inviting all stakeholders in this space to join us to bring your voice, ideas, and your influence to join us to help turn this mission from concept to reality and see an increase of GDP across the Caribbean by simply connecting our people,” he said.
