-Ramesh Dookhoo
CHAIRMAN of the Private Sector Commission, Mr. Ramesh Dookhoo, yesterday gave all credit for the International Building Expo, slated for August 6 – 8 at the Guyana National Stadium, to Housing and Water Minister, Mr. Irfaan Ali.

Speaking at the launch of the Expo at the Princess Hotel at Providence, on the East Bank, Dookhoo said that the past ten years has seen a building boom in Guyana, which has gone almost unnoticed in some sectors. He made reference to the fact that Guyana and Belize were the only CARICOM countries to have experienced growth in the construction industry in 2009.

Stating that there is need for smaller exhibitions that focus on specific sectors, with a more international flavour, Mr. Dookhoo said that this exhibition is in keeping with the current thinking of the Private Sector.  He expressed appreciation, on behalf of the Private Sector Commission, for this initiative, which creates opportunities for the varied sub-sectors of the construction industry to form alliances with their counterparts in the sector, the growth of which, he said, has contributed significantly to the country’s GDP.

According to Mr. Dookhoo, the construction and engineering sectors grew by 1.5 per cent in 2009, and contributed 11 per cent of GDP, while in 2008, there was “robust growth” of 8.5 per cent. 

He stated that the building boom has been partly fuelled by public works and infrastructural projects, and has also been driven by tremendous growth in the housing sector.  From 1994 to 2010, Dookhoo said, in excess of 80,000 house lots have been distributed and construction has been completed on an approximate 75 percent of these lots. 

Quoting data from the last census, which indicates that home ownership has increased by 19.6 per cent from the previous census, which had been taken pre-1991, Dookhoo contends that this is a stellar achievement in a small economy like Guyana’s.  He stated, also, that the housing sector has been enhanced by joint initiatives between Government and the Private Sector, with commercial banks offering low-cost mortgages to potential homeowners, which he says has resulted in a further boost to many Guyanese owning their own homes, which has positively stimulated the construction market. 

He called for Guyana’s business community to pursue larger business partners in the regions so as to be able to cope with jobs that may become available outside of their present scope and said that this exhibition can be a catalyst for such collaboration.