Guyana, Barbados & Trinidad ferry to set sail within three months – President Ali

A new ferry service among Guyana, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) was greenlighted and the vessel should make its inaugural journey in the next three months.

This was announced by President Dr. Irfaan Ali on Saturday as he addressed the opening ceremony of the XII Annual Consultation with Caribbean Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The consultation is being hosted in Guyana this year and the opening ceremony was held at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.

Dr. Ali said the ferry should be in operation in “another two/ three months.” though he hopes it will be operational much sooner.

This ferry service, the President explained, is indicative of regional leaders’ new efforts to collaborate among themselves even if the entire Caribbean Community (CARICOM) bloc is not ready to move ahead on particular ventures.

He described this collaboration model as a “coalition of the willing.”

“We’re not waiting for everyone.

“Those who are willing to start an innovative project, we will go ahead and the others will join when they are ready,” Dr. Ali said.

A delegation from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados last week met to discuss the progress on getting each country prepared to operationalise the planned ferry service.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Public Works, during the meeting held in Trinidad on February 15, country representatives noted that several systems need to be in place and they agreed that within two months’ time these systems should be in place.

Outside of the ferry service, President spoke at length about Guyana’s macro development plans, including the focus on infrastructure works and sustained, environmental development. And the Head of State emphasised that Guyana’s prosperity now will benefit the entire region.

President Ali is currently the Chairman of CARICOM. Starting Sunday, Guyana will host the 46th Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government. It is expected that more discussions on regional development will take centrestage.