President Ali projects new ports, shipping links and energy hub as Guyana moves ‘Forward Together’

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Monday tied industrial transformation to infrastructure and people-centred growth as he launched the PPP/C Manifesto 2025: Forward Together for a Better Guyana at the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre in Kingston, Georgetown.

“Industrial transformation is critically linked to infrastructure, the development of our human capital, technical training, and opportunities for the local private sector. Most importantly, it is about translating benefits down to the level of the people,” President Ali told the packed hall.

Highlighting Region One as a key starting point, the president outlined major projects including a new port facility at Port Kaituma, upgraded facilities at Moruca and Mabaruma, marine transport improvements, cold storage for farmers, and expanded cocoa, coffee, and five-spice production with processing facilities.

Plans also include direct shipping links from Charity, Region Two, to the Caribbean and enhanced tourism with two new ferries servicing Essequibo.

President Ali also detailed a national infrastructure network connecting multiple regions, including the Kurupukari Bridge, the new Demerara River Bridge, and Puruni and Itaballi Bridges, as well as expanded four-lane roads linking regions and facilitating commerce.

The Wales Development Zone will host a gas pipeline, a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility, two 600-megawatt power plants, agro-processing, and small data centres.

All of these projects, the president said, create economic diversification, citing investments in agriculture, mining, and exclusive economic zones designed to create jobs, reduce production costs, and boost local enterprise.

“This is just touching the surface of what we are doing,” he said, underscoring the scale and ambition of the country’s ongoing transformation.