CGX Energy Inc yesterday commissioned a bridge that leads to the company’s Deep Water Port, located aback Seawell village, Corentyne, Berbice, while the company’s Executive Chairman, Professor Suresh Narine, announced that it is on schedule for full operation by October 2022.
The Deep Water Port is being constructed by CGX Energy Inc – a Canadian company – and the civil works are being carried out by the company’s subsidiary, Grand Canal Industrial Estates Inc. (GCIE).
However, the main access bridge will also serve the residents of Seawell and neighbouring communities.
At the commissioning yesterday, which was attended by President Irfaan Ali, Narine stated: “I am happy to say we are on schedule and on budget.”
He explained that they will have another part of the facility built to handle agricultural imports and exports which will be ready in 2023.
The Deep Water Port facility will cost a total of US$80 million, he said, while noting that they have also earmarked another 10 acres for further development. “Very important — of the 30 acres that we have out there, we have earmarked 10 of those acres to be a living laboratory of mangroves habitat to study how habitats can co-exist with commercial development,” he explained.
Narine also sought to point out that infrastructure and plans do not make a port alone, but that the people do as well. “and Berbice has been tremendous in its support.”
In January, he said, there will be workshops held to organize residents into clusters around the opportunities and they will “articulate numbers, required capital investment, [and] required training.”
According to him, they will also identify necessary training in some areas.
The complete construction of the port is expected to result in no less than 1,000 jobs being created, while when fully operational, the port is also expected to create more than 350 jobs and massive investment for Berbice.
President Ali was yesterday joined by Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, Canadian Ambassador to Guyana, Mark Berman and regional officials.
The team along with CGX officials and others inspected the Berbice Deep Water Port site after commissioning the newly constructed access bridge.
Viable
At the simple ceremony held after the ribbon-cutting, Ali stated that Region Six can bring trans-border development as he noted that next January a summit will be held between Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, French Guiana, and France, who recently came on board.
He said that during the visit from the President of Brazil, they plan to discuss the creation of an energy hub, while with the President of Suriname they are discussing a joint gas strategy. He pointed out that gas is not only linked to the production of power or energy, “In Region Six lies one of the largest A grade bauxite deposits in Guyana, with cheaper power, cheaper energy and the culmination of the bauxite on our side and the other side of the Corentyne River it makes the economic viability of a smelter possible, and not only possible, financially viable.”
Ali added that a smelter will lead to an aluminum plant, which then leads to “constant work and justification for a deep water port that will be of the size and magnitude you can’t even imagine.”
According to him, not only will that be an infrastructural investment but it will also see “containerized traffic, direct export of grains immediately reduces the cost of transport and logistics, which ultimately will bring direct benefits to the consumers.”
Additionally, Ali said investments are already being made in the Port Mourant Training School, which will be converted into the country’s National Oil and Gas Institute, with both ExxonMobil and CGX onboard.
Expansion of highway
Meanwhile, President Ali also yesterday disclosed that a project for the expansion of the region’s existing highway and “moving it closer to international standards” will soon be launched.
According to him, that investment is expected to cost over US$100 million. He said at the same time investments are also being made in community roads, and drainage and irrigation services.
Meanwhile, Ali also divulged that the government will build the infrastructure for a call center in Region Six, before noting that they are already at an advanced stage of negotiating with the service provider, which will create at least 500 new jobs.
