PROMINENT businessman and former leader of the Reform component of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) party, Mr Stanley Ming, has said the road from Lethem to Port Georgetown, which links Guyana with Brazil, is necessary if Guyana is to become a trans-shipment port.Speaking about an ambitious transformation plan, “Guyana 2030”, which he had crafted with retired Major General Joe Singh; University of Guyana Lecturer Dr Eric Phillips and former PNC Executive Supriya Singh-Bodden, Ming said the project was requested by Brazil.
And Brazil really needs it, he said, pointing out that one of that country’s major cities, Manaus, home to some of the world’s major manufacturers, including Yamaha, Suzuki and Mercedes Benz, is many miles away from the mouth of the Amazon River.
“They don’t make the goods, they manufacture purely for Brazil. A lot of it is exported to the rest of the world,” he said, pointing out that the challenge is to get the goods from Manaus to the Atlantic Ocean.
With no direct road link, goods are transported through the Amazon River by barge in a journey that takes nine days, he disclosed.
According to the former PNCR member, Brazil understandably has been behind Guyana for decades to build the roadway to an Atlantic Port in Guyana, be it Georgetown, Essequibo or Berbice, whichever is more suitable.
This, he said, will enable Brazil’s products to reach the Atlantic Ocean from Manaus in 24 hours, as against nine days.
It will save Guyana’s southern neighbour eight days of financial charges, he said, and that is a significant reduction by any means.
Speaking with journalists gathered at the New Thriving Restaurant on Main Street, Georgetown during resuscitation of the Guyana Press Association (GPA) lecture series, Ming disclosed that because of Guyana’s procrastinating, Brazil approached Venezuela and the latter agreed to build a “perfect highway”.
It starts at Manaus, goes to Boa Vista and comes close to Bom Fim at the Lethem border, but it then going north, into Venezuela, leading to the Caribbean Sea.
Along the way, Ming said, there is a free zone area where Brazilians and Venezuelans trade openly.
Brazil, he contended, wanted to get to the Atlantic Ocean or the Caribbean Sea, and had constructed a bridge to navigate the hurdle posed by the Orinoco River.
The bridge was constructed at a cost of US$431 million, and it allows for traffic from Manaus all the way to the Caribbean Sea, but the journey takes more than 48 hours.
A path through Guyana, he said, would take half that time. He pointed out that Brazil is still interested in the mega-project.
Another project Brazil is still interested in, Ming disclosed, is the hydro project it proposed to Guyana some years ago.
Ming said that, unlike the rest of Brazil, the northern State of Roraima does not have a regular supply of electricity, but is supplied on a rotational basis.
He said that apart from offering to build and finance the road from Lethem to Georgetown, Brazil had, in 2009, also proposed to build two hydro power stations here; one producing 2000 megawatts of electricity and the other producing 700 megawatts. The intention, Ming claimed, was to provide all the power Guyana needs, which is some 300 kilowatts, with Brazil buying the excess for the State of Roraima, to ensure it receives a more stable electricity supply.
According to him, Brazil is still interested in funding the project.
Ming pointed out that the future of Guyana lies in the hands of her youths, who make up 65 per cent of the population. They have the power to press the politicos to make things happen, he said.
By Tajeram Mohabir
