Another deep water port, which will be able to accommodate large cargo vessels and position Guyana as a hub for trade among other South American countries, is planned for Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), President Dr. Irfaan Ali has announced.
The President made this announcement while engaging residents of the region during an expansive government outreach activity on Monday.
He noted that during his recent visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), there was significant interest in investing in Guyana. And he said that the government is focused on distributing investments across the country, so that no area is left languishing.
“We now have solid proposals and interest for the construction of a deep water port here in Region Six,” the Head-of-State said, reflecting on the UAE visit.
He added, “The foundation is being prepared for an enormous transformation in this region.”
This deep water port is expected to provide oil and gas support services through the use of ports or terminals for the loading, offloading, or handling of oil for transportation. These ports can also facilitate agricultural exports.
Since last year, during another visit to the UAE, President Ali had been in talks for the establishment of this deep water port.
There has been specific interest in opportunities, capitalising on the geographic location of Guyana, which makes it easy to trade with countries in the northern area of South America like Brazil, Suriname and French Guiana.
Already, though, works are ongoing at a multi-million deep water port aback Seawell village in Berbice. This facility, being built by Canadian oil company CGX Energy, could become a major hub for oil and gas business because of oil finds at nearby wells in Guyana and Suriname.
The CGX port is expected to accommodate two platform supply vessels. It was also reported that there are plans to build a compacted port site with warehousing and tubular storage.
President Ali said that the newer deep water port is expected to create “thousands of jobs” for people in the region. It is also expected to have numerous “spin-off” benefits.
And to prepare residents for the technical skills needed at these ports and in the wider oil and gas facility, the President highlighted that the Guyana National Training Centre will also be established in the region at Port Mourant.
He said that more than $160 million will be spent in “phase one alone” of the training centre. The promised hospitality institute, geared at training people to improve Guyana’s tourism services, will also be at this facility.
