Minister Bharrat commends significant growth in quarrying sector

The government is accelerating efforts to produce building materials for key sectors due to the surge in local demand for these items.

This effort is reflected in the growth of the quarrying sector, specifically in the production of aggregate stone.

According to the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, production of aggregate stone has increased from 1.8 million metric tonnes in 2023 to over 3.3 million in 2024.

“Bear in mind, when we took over in 2020, the production was 737,000 tonnes,” he told reporters at a year-end press conference on Tuesday, at the Guyana Forestry Commission’s Head Office on Water Street, Georgetown.

This is reflective of the confidence that investors have placed in the country’s economy and the government that spearheads its development.

To date, 17 quarries are operational countrywide, with several of these companies expanding their operations.

This is another notable hike from the seven quarries operated in 2020.

“We are poised to see maybe another five new quarries coming into operation in 2025, thereby carrying up our production way above the four million (dollar) mark,” Minister Bharrat added.

With the government’s massive infrastructural agenda unfolding and the Ministry of Housing on target to achieve over 50,000 house lots, the minister explained that the demand will continue to increase even as the government ramps up production.

“We have also seen a massive increase in sand production from eight million [tonnes] in 2023 to 11.7 million in 2024. In loam, we have seen an increase from 949,000 tonnes to over 1.7 million tonnes in 2024,” the minister said.