Chinese investor plans top flight mall, housing scheme

An industrial zone for Region 10, a state-of-the-art mall and a housing complex are among projects which have been floated by Chinese companies at this year’s building expo, which opened last evening at the Guyana National Stadium.

Several Chinese companies are likely to be involved in the arrangement, which would see Guyana and China signing a deal. A figure of US$500M was floated last evening as the planned investment of one company.

The Purple Heart kitchen on display yesterday.

Land for the mall spanning eight acres and located on the outskirts of an eco-friendly gated community named ‘New Life’ in Providence on the East Bank of Demerara has already been acquired along with the 100 acres for the estimated 400-houses community. So says Lun ‘Allen’ Weikang, Administrative Manager of Bai Shan Lin Projects of Guyana, a company which saw many patrons flocking to its booth at the expo last evening enquiring of requirements for house ownership. Bai Shan Lin is among a number of foreign firms working in the timber sector which have been criticised for not investing more in value-added activities.

The company plans also to develop an industrial zone in the mining town of Linden to attract North American and Chinese companies to bring their businesses here, since it says not only labour would be cheaper but that Guyana is a pivotal hub linking them to the South American market.

With the interior illustrating their planned projects, several persons lined the walls of the booth to get a glimpse of homes that would no longer require the services of the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) as they use solar energy and come equipped with other eco friendly building materials.

Priya, a housewife who travelled with her two children from Enmore on the East Coast of Demerara to “check out things” at the expo stated that while she admired the plans the company had, with her meagre salary as a sales clerk she could only dream of owning such a home. “What they say about no more GPL and having the big mall near and so make me wish I could move in there”, she laughed but added, “I know I will never be able to live there because what house could I get with my salary. I will have to wait until these two boys grow up and put me in one,” she added, pointing to her children.

The estimated cost per home at New Life was not given as the company’s manager stated that it had not completed a costing.

A young patron eying a Madewini Villas display at its exhibition atthe Building Expo, which opened yesterday at the National Stadium. (Photo b y Anjuli Persaud )

Over at Promised Land Development Ltd, Director of the company, Moses Rambarran was trying to persuade attendees that his company’s prefabricated steel homes were the best. Based in the United States, he also has a dream to over the next year establish a similar company in Guyana, making for even quicker delivery of services while providing jobs here.

An estimated $12M- 16M will give a buyer a turn-key 572-square feet home and it comes furnished with furniture and appliances, including a 42-inch flat screen television. The company representative was quick to mention that although there is a flat price, homes can also be custom-built.

Feedback from patrons was that although they were impressed with the quality, the $12M price tag was steep since the house seemed small compared to that of the average Guyanese home. Some said that based on their own experiences and those of family and friends, they were contemplating going the furnished, pre fab steel home route and settling into a house a guaranteed 30 days after purchase.

Furniture makers also had many flocking to examine exhibits and quoting costs for possible purchase. Mostly women could be seen at the Guy-America, Melsha and ND&S furniture stores examining completed kitchens and household furniture mainly sofa sets.  Guy-America’s Purple Heart hardwood kitchens had many enquiring about cost.

They were greeted with friendly salespersons who quoted an average $3M much to the surprise of many.  Rasheda, an employee of Republic Bank who stated that she was soon to be a land owner, explained that despite the fact that the work was immaculately done, the price tag was “way too high for a kitchen alone.”

Another patron explained that she attends every building expo as she uses the designs displayed by companies and has them done for a fraction of the cost. “You come here to see what is new, what looks good, make sure you take it in good then get somebody to build the same for sometimes half of what they say here”, she told Stabroek News.

However as costly as it may seem to Guyanese, citizens from other countries said that they were both impressed by quality and cost. Andrea, an Antiguan national and Phillip of Trinidad and Tobago said that they plan to purchase items at the expo and have them shipped to their countries.

All of the major banks had booths. Republic Bank and the New Building Society accommodated applications for housing loans on the spot. At Republic Bank there was a refrigerator to be won by a loan applicant if theirs was approved by the end of September.

On opening night most entities had their fair share of patrons, however, this year the gadget selling stores seemed not to attract many patrons as the focus was on home furnishing and building businesses.