…while rigidly enforcing building codes and standards
MINISTER of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali has said that this year’s International Building Exposition will “open the future building and construction landscape” of Guyana.
Under the theme “Embracing Standards – Building the Future ”, the much-anticipated International Building Expo 2012 will be staged at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, on the East Bank Demerara, from July 6 to 8. Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle last Friday, Minister Ali said the theme of this third Building Expo is very critical today, “as we are looking at building to mitigate against natural disasters, ensuring that consumers get high quality products, ensuring that building standards and codes are maintained”.
To this end, the Housing Minister reminded that his ministry is now set to rigidly enforce building codes and standards, and guidelines.
“So this building expo is to highlight the importance of standards as we try to build a future that is strong, buildings that can withstand predictions of the future, and to ensure that our infrastructure landscape is one that can withstand any test of quality, etc,” he stated.
He said they are also looking to promote alternative materials, noting, “More and more forestry resources are becoming scarce and more expensive, as we speak about sustainable development, also the fluctuation in prices of primary commodities like cement and so on, forces us to look at cheaper means of construction and also that has lower long term maintenance cost”.
Ali said at this exposition, they are also looking to promote alternative energy, such as solar systems; and a number of companies are coming to showcase more modern material of high quality and standards that can be utilised in the construction industry.
“Building Expo Three is going to really open the future building and construction landscape of Guyana – it would look towards promoting and enhancing consumers education on new building approaches and new construction materials; market information and market accessibility, while it will offer the exhibitors an opportunity to reach out to more than 70,000 potential consumers over the period of three days,” he said.
He said this year’s building expo has received tremendous support from the private sector, recalling that last year, they had said that this event will be every other year, but “the private sector has pushed us towards looking at making it an annual event and their support has been tremendous”.
The Housing and Water Minister said that the expo will also see strong participation from the financial sector, pointing out that many persons going into construction – commercial, residential and industrial – would be looking for financing options.
“And the building expo also brings together all the key financial players in the market, so that consumers can have access to information and financing options there also,” he posited.
In terms of participation, the Minister said they have had an encouraging response from regional and international companies with a number of companies slated to come, including from Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Suriname, Brazil, Canada, and the United States; all these have already confirmed participation.
“We are hoping that we can have also a trade delegation from our sister regional states so that we can give wider information and access to products that are manufactured locally,” Ali said.
Building Expo brings together all the stakeholders in building and construction from the block maker to the landscaper, and the vision is to make Building Expo the Premier Building and Construction Expo in the Caribbean and Latin America.
The Ministry of Housing and Water launched the first Building Expo in 2010, as a direct response to the growing demand in the building and construction sectors, and has since been a resounding success, testimony to the Housing Sector drive and the widespread recognition of the opportunities it offers. The event in 2011 was staged under the theme ‘Bridging the Gap- Transforming Guyana’.