– Minister Ali says construction boom necessitated Expo
In an interview at his office yesterday Housing Minister Irfaan Ali told the Chronicle that the Building Expo 2010 was conceptualized after President Bharrat Jagdeo made his New Year’s address in 2010.
According to the Minister, in that address the President challenged ministry heads to be more visionary in developing programmes that would target the advancement of the work in the sectors under their mandate.  He said that the Ministry of Housing and Water , which has overview and responsibility in the construction industry, has been integral to the growth and expansion of the construction sector, not only as a primary contributor to the expanding national GDP and economy, but as a dynamic force behind the transformational changes in the physical landscape of the country, which is an important indicator of an economy on the rise – with the spectacular amount of construction all across the country pointing to a steep rise in Guyana’s socio-economic dynamics, which has also catalysed energetic growth in other ancillary sub-sectors.
Minister Ali said that a trip across Guyana by someone who has not visited this land for sometime would amaze them – given the condition of the country from where this Administration started, because they would see a total transformation across the land, with housing schemes for the poor from one end of the country to another, in addition to new homes on private lands and massive buildings for entrepreneurial activities, all with unique and different architectural designs.
Also, the Minister said that the elaborate housing programme that the Government has onstream has necessitated that new and potential homeowners become aware and educated on the various choices on building materials and ancillary accessories and trimmings, along with knowledge of the various manufacturers, suppliers and distributors; and that Government has to ensure that persons have access to the requisite information before they begin building so as to enable them to make appropriate choices that could guarantee them optimum value for the money they spend to construct their homes.  The Minister explained that this consideration is because many persons have constructed their homes under poor advisement by less-than-honest contractors, or carpenters with limited knowledge, and have consequently depleted their resources without receiving the full benefit of their loans or savings.
On the other hand, said the Minister, Government also wants the local construction sector to be exposed to other markets.  He named contracting firms in this country  which the Government is convinced are big enough to compete in terms of their substantial asset and human resource bases to compete outside of Guyana, in places such as Suriname, Trinidad, St. Lucia, and others;  so this Expo, according to the Minister, would also serve to encourage Guyana’s private sector by demonstrating to the wider CARICOM community that this country possesses the capacity, the capability, and the requisite skills necessary to deliver optimal construction service that can compete with any other outside of this country.
Toward this end, encouraged the Minister, this Expo also provides an opportunity for local business entities to do some introspection and realize their optimal potential.
As Minister Ali previously mentioned, this Exhibition is serving to bring together all the players in the construction sector – linking them together in an endeavour to create more business opportunities; and also enhancing information and knowledge bases so that persons understand where the country is going.
For example, the Minister said that Government has created a Stabroek Re-development Plan to demonstrate what the President perceives Stabroek should look like by pedestrianizing the area.  According to the Minister the boardwalk idea that the President spoke about in re-developing the shoreline behind the Stabroek Market would change the entire area into a more aesthetically enhanced environment.
He said that the effect Government wants is to foster a sense of community spirit and a feeling among the people that they are integral to the process of development and advancement – because they are, but they need to experience this in real and practical ways; and re-creating the infrastructure in the heart of the hub of activity in the city to an international standard, where everyone has access to these facilities, is paramount to national cohesiveness and social and psychological wellbeing of the Guyanese people, the Minister opined.
Alluding to the sustained advancement of public/private partnerships by the Government, Minister Ali said that there are also various developers who are coming onstream with their own projects, which he considers is happening with such success because the President has been advocating and encouraging more public/private partnerships.  In the Minister’s considered opinion, this Expo is an excellent example of this success because, up to the time of speaking, there were in excess of thirteen corporate partners onboard.
Minister Ali is convinced that Guyanese also need to see the transformational advancements being made in the various spheres in this country.  For example, he said that during an incidental drive past on the East Coast one could see the new CARICOM Building and the Convention Centre at Liliendaal, and the new Olympic-sized pool; but that people do not have an comprehensive idea of the magnitude of the construction boom and the great amount of new buildings being constructed countrywide, and this Expo serves to highlight much of that development in one common place in a cohesive way so that people can have a thorough understanding of the growth that is taking place in Guyana’s construction sector.
Also, projects such as the new Marriott hotel, which is a new development earmarked for the Kingston area, with a few additional malls proposed for various locations are projects that would stimulate confidence in the economy, according the Minister.
He said: “Our financial sector is thriving and we are very lucky in Guyana because there has been a continuous and ever-expanding growth in the construction sector, even through the global financial crisis, which has been boosted by the supportive mechanism of the local financial sector.  These are strong points in our national socio-economic framework that we need to promote – and this Expo is one medium that the Government has conceptualized by
which to demonstrate and achieve all that we have envisioned.”