Months after machining joint venture, GKB Industries acquired the Guyana Sugar Corporation [GuySuCo] Enmore packing plant for oilfield services manufacturing, the facility remains unoccupied and commitments to workers have not been kept.
Stabroek News visited the facility recently and it was evident that no work has been done to the property. Sources explained to this newspaper that GuySuCo’s packing plants were removed and relocated to two Berbice Estates.
“It is just the shell or the housing of the packaging plant remains there. From what we were told is that nothing is happening but Guysons would visit from time to time to check see what is happening,” a source who has knowledge of the project related. Workers on the site confirmed that no work has been undertaken. This newspaper’s efforts to solicit an update on the project from Chief Executive Officer [CEO] of Guysons Group of Companies, Faizal Khan, proved futile. Khan was contacted twice and on the second call promised that in a subsequent call an update would be provided. But there has been no return call from the Guysons’ CEO and subsequent calls to Khan’s number went unanswered.
Back in February 2022, Guysons Engineering and United States equipment manufacturer K&B Industries had announced in a statement that in 2020 they had formed a US$60M Joint Venture named GKB, a majority-owned Guyanese company. The public was informed via GKB’s statement that the venture was expected to transform the packaging plant into a fabrication facility for the oil and gas industry. It stated that GKB had acquired the property at Enmore and would be plugging US$37.5 million ($7.5 billion) into the first phase, being a state-of-the-art Oilfield Services facility at the Enmore Manufacturing Plant.
The statement added that a minimum of fifty acres of land was required to effectively deliver Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) & Premium Accessory Services to the oil and gas sector and for this, GKB engaged the Government. The agreement with the government gave GKB access to 55 acres of land at Enmore. GKB had initially proposed a site closer to port facilities in Georgetown but later said it saw merit in the Government’s counter-proposal and recommendation of Enmore. The statement underlined that GKB’s lease is for the Enmore packaging facility, which is approximately 100,000 sq. feet, and not the sugar estate.
The government had never provided any information on the terms of the land transaction with the joint venture.
According to the statement from the joint venture, it would require GKB 18-24 months to build such a facility whereas the Enmore Sugar Packaging Plant could be repurposed and become operational, almost immediately. This would preserve jobs currently held at the plant, with a guarantee of a minimum job growth of 150 by end of year 1 and 500 by the end of year 5 with an initial injection of US$7.5 million ($1.5 billion).
The statement noted that the OCTG and Premium Accessory Service that GKB provides is currently outsourced to Trinidad & Tobago, the United States of America, and farther afield. “This initiative would increase commercial activity on the East Coast Corridor and tap into considerable foreign exchange earning potential, bringing greater Oil & Gas revenues to Guyana.”
“Significantly, this would be the first time ever that these services are provided in-country. The total investment of US$37.5 million ($7.5 billion) into the East Coast Corridor is unmatched”, the statement declared. GKB, according to its statement, will endeavour to train residents of the East Coast Corridor.
“We have committed to rehiring 100% of the workers currently employed at the Enmore packaging plant. We will see to it that our expansion uplifts economically-depressed communities of the East Coast Corridor with sustainable jobs which will serve as a revitalizing lifeline for its youth and laid off sugar workers”, the statement had said.
It added that GKB had also agreed to strict land development timelines and milestones over the first three years, which would be monitored as the phased development occurs. The joint venture posited that the project’s impact is not only on job creation but will put “the East Coast Corridor on the global oilfield map, showing investors – both foreign and local – that industrial development in these areas can work for them too”. Khan declared at the announcement of the venture, “GKB is committed to the Government of Guyana’s vision to build local capacity within the framework of Guyana’s local content legislation.”
