Gas bottling and fertiliser plants central to cost-of-living strategy – PM Phillips
The proposed gas bottling and fertiliser plants in Wales are central to the government’s cost-of-living strategy, aimed at delivering cheaper cooking gas and lower food prices, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips said on Sunday.
He was speaking on the ‘Starting Point’ podcast, where he noted that most Guyanese already know the gas-to-energy (GTE) project at Wales, West Bank Demerara, is expected to cut electricity bills by half.
Phillips said the wider payoff will come from follow-on investments, including a gas bottling facility and a fertiliser plant that will lower farmers’ production costs and, over time, help bring down food prices.
He recalled that in 2025 the government invited Requests for Proposals for the Guyana Gas Bottling and Logistics Company (GGBLC) and the Guyana Ammonia and Urea Plant (GAUP), both earmarked for Wales.
According to the prime minister, the gas bottling plant will enable Guyana to produce and distribute cooking gas locally at significantly lower prices than households and businesses now face. Guyana currently relies heavily on imported liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), leaving consumers exposed to swings in international prices.
Once operational, the gas bottling facility is expected to satisfy domestic demand and create opportunities to export LPG to the wider Caribbean. “Guyana will benefit, the region will benefit from it too,” Phillips stated.
He said the planned fertiliser plant is intended to reduce input costs for thousands of farmers nationwide, creating a ripple effect across the food supply chain.
“If you cushion the cost of production in the farming sector, it will also affect the price of food that goes on our tables,” he explained, describing the investments as a long-term intervention to tackle cost-of-living pressures.
Phillips added that any surplus fertiliser produced would be available for export to regional markets. He said these initiatives are being advanced alongside plans for a second phase of the gas-to-energy programme, which is expected to add 300 megawatts of power by 2030.
The additional capacity is meant to keep pace with rapidly growing energy demand driven by new housing schemes, hotels, agro-processing ventures and expanded public infrastructure.
While short-term measures such as power ships were required to meet immediate needs, Phillips said the administration is now focused on long-term solutions that provide greater stability and affordability.
The GTE project, which falls under the Office of the Prime Minister, remains on track for completion by the end of 2026.
It is a joint venture between the Government of Guyana and the private sector, and includes a natural gas pipeline and processing plant to convert natural gas into electricity through a gas-to-power system.