. . . at handing over of certificates for roll-on/roll-off ferries
THE roll-on/roll-off ferries that arrived in Guyana recently were officially transferred to the Guyana Government on Friday by Chinese Ambassador Yu Wenzhe in the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The certificates of delivery and transferral for the Sabanto and Kanawan vessels which arrived in the country less than a month ago were presented to Minister of Public Works and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn in his office, Wight’s Lane, Kingston.

The Ambassador said that he was happy to hand over the vessels on behalf of the Government and the people of China, to the Government and people of Guyana.
“These two vessels which will be used across the Essequibo River, will greatly facilitate the movement of people and commodities…this in turn will greatly facilitate an improved livelihood of the people and the production of agriculture and other goods on both sides of the river,” Ambassador Yu Wenzhe said.
The Ambassador also said that 2012 marks 40 years of cooperation and friendship between the two countries.“We hope to take this opportunity this year to have a series of activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary and deepen the friendship and close cooperation…this friendship and cooperation has and will bring many tangible results and concrete benefits to the people of the two countries…the two ferries are yet another example which resulted of these co-operations which will benefit the ordinary people, workers, farmers and the people on both sides, China and Guyana,” the Chinese Ambassador said.

Minister Benn said that work on this project could not have been advanced without the efforts of the Transport and Harbours Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Maritime Administration Department, which coordinated with the representatives of the People’s Republic of China to work out the various issues.
“Thank you for the cooperation… we will operate the vessels to exhibit that cooperation and friendship shared with the Chinese Government,” Minister Benn said.
The boats, which are similar to the Makouria class vessels and of the Canawaima size have been described as a New Year’s gift by the local Chinese Embassy.
With the certificates for the vessels now handed over to the ministry, phase one of the ministry’s plan to ‘retire’ the Makouria class vessels, which have been in operation for more than 70 years would have gained momentum, as it has cleared the way for its staff to be trained in the operations of the vessels, thereby making them ready to set sail by mid February, 2012.

The vessels are intended to provide services at the crossing between Parika, Region 3 and Adventure, Region 2 and as such the construction of roll-on/roll-off stellings at Parika and Supenaam to accommodate the vessels has already commenced by contractor BK International who is modifying the stellings at the following costs; $240.1M for Parika and $138M for Supenaam.
The modern vessels with arrangements such as a VIP Lounge, and the necessary amenities to make passengers more comfortable, each has the capacity to seat 800 passengers and 20 lorries or 44 cars.
The Governments of Guyana and China entered into an agreement to provide Guyana with the two roll-on/roll-off ferries valued US$14.4M, which would allow easier and faster loading and off-loading since they will connect directly to the stellings built to accommodate them.