No permission for additional private sand pits on Linden Highway – Jagdeo

Following reports that Commissioner of Police (ag) Clifton Hicken and Deputy Commissioner (ag) Calvin Brutus may be going into sand mining on the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo says the government is not greenlighting any private sand pit developments there.

Jagdeo, on Thursday, said sand pit owners have been hiking the price for the resource because there is a great demand for sand now. In response to this, he reminded reporters of the government’s decision to open public sand pits there last year. Those pits, he said, have helped to lower the price of sand.

Even as the government is exploring additional public sand pits to help regulate prices, Jagdeo made it clear that no private developer will be granted permission to open new mining areas.

“The Government of Guyana’s position is clear,” Jagdeo said during a People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) press conference on Thursday.

Jagdeo could not comment on the validity of an application by the Commissioner of Police and the Deputy Commissioner. He, however, stressed: “It’s not going to happen.”

Last year, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill acknowledged that there was a rising demand for sand and stone and said that the government has already approached foreign suppliers to help meet the demand.

The ongoing construction boom has significantly increased the demand for building materials, more so the supply of those materials has not equally increased. Shortages in both local and international markets mean that prices for scarce goods are likely to increase.

With the government rolling out a massive housing agenda, coupled with its infrastructural transformation, the shortages of building materials may lead to work delays.