Gov’t positioning Guyana to be global leader in high-value sectors

The Government of Guyana is positioning the country to be second to none in energy and food security, climate, ecological, biological and technological services, as well as health and educational services, and manufacturing.

President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali announced this Thursday evening during his keynote address at the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (GCCI’s) 133rd annual Awards Presentation and Gala Dinner at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.

Dr Ali said the work has already begun to build Guyana: 2030 and beyond in a strong, sustainable way, and highlighted that emphasis will be placed on certain sectors to ensure persons benefit from their development.

“Sectors like tourism and aquaculture are key because those are the high-value sectors, that have the greatest impact on small businesses, that have the greatest transformation on a community-centres business opportunity,” he expressed.

The president said the government is therefore focused on transforming Guyana into a broad-based economy, built with the hydrocarbon revenue earned.

He touched on the importance of infrastructure for the effective functioning of the country, noting that time wasted trying to navigate faulty infrastructure causes major economic loss.

As a result, the government has taken several steps to build a robust infrastructure system across the country.

These include the construction and repair of hundreds of roads in each region, installation of water filtration systems in communities that did not previously have access to potable water, expansion of roads to reduce traffic buildup, and major housing construction, among others.

“Major infrastructure transformation is ongoing in this country. And you can just look around you. Look all over, and you will see the transformation I’m speaking about.

“The entire east bank has been transformed with the opening of the road from Mandela to Eccles. And you know what is interesting? Since we completed that road, every major global investor wants a piece of land there. Every major global and local investor wants to establish their head office and headquarters there,” Dr Ali said.

The government will also focus on building a world-class business environment inclusive of technological platforms and human resources.

“We are positioning ourselves to be a global destination for headquarters. This is very, very important. To do this, it is important that we examine a few key pieces of infrastructure. Some have already started, and some will come,” the president said.

Key pieces of infrastructure to be examined, he said, include a deep-water harbour connecting Guyana to Brazil, which is intended to be the premier logistics and trans-shipment hub for the Caribbean, going up north and connecting to Brazil.

The construction of a Guyana-Suriname bridge, a multi-billion-dollar oil and gas training institute, and several regional hospitals, are also on the government’s priority list.