Government’s initiative to promote home ownership in Guyana through the development of several new housing schemes and the availability of affordable financing has generated significant investment in the construction sector.
According to data provided in the last census, home ownership has increased by 19.6 percent and over 80,000 house lots have been distributed within the past 15 years.
Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Dookoo, at the launching of the International Building Expo on July 10, pointed out that the increase in home ownership and house lots distribution have led to tremendous growth in the construction sector.
Head of the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest), Geoff Da Silva, also attested to this, based on the number of projects in the construction sub-sector that his entity has aided.
According to Da Silva, there have been both expansion and development within the construction sector, with substantial investment made in ready mix cement companies.
“Three years ago there was only one ready mix cement company, ‘Readymix’, and construction work had to be done manually…today there are approximately four such companies.” he said.
Another area that has seen increased investment by major companies is the manufacturing of products or inputs for construction of products that were previously exported.
This, Da Silva said, is very significant, since it means that foreign exchange is being saved while employment is created and better delivery of the product is guaranteed.
Entities such as Gafoors Group of Companies and Dalip Trading have also diversified their products to cater for the huge demand caused by the growth in the housing sector.
Go-Invest continues to work with companies as they continue to invest more in Guyana. (GINA)