… now that funding has been approved for those, other major projects

IT’S been long in the making but according to Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, the new bridge across the Demerara River is closer to fruition than initially anticipated.

And so too are the Linden-to-Lethem road, a regional airport at Lethem and the proposed deep-water harbour here in Georgetown, among a host of other major projects that have been bandied about for years but never saw the light of day.

The catalyst, Minister Patterson said, is the Ministry of Finance’s approval of the funding for the foregoing projects from among “a shopping list” he has drawn up and submitted for its perusal.

While he did not specify where the moneys would come from, he did indicate that revenues from the production of oil, when the wells do start to pump in 2020, will be used to fund a number of large-scale infrastructural development projects.

He also disclosed that discussions for the infrastructural projects at reference have been ongoing with ExxonMobil since it made its first find back in 2015.

But the good news doesn’t end there. According to the minister, the government is also making plans for the construction of a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plant to supply local consumers with cooking gas to aid the country’s self-sufficiency.

“So, when that’s up and running, we’ll no longer have to import LPG or cooking gas, and, obviously, we, being part owners of the gas (will ensure that) the prices are dropped so we will have stable electricity at a cheaper cost, and we’ll have self-sufficient gas,” Minister Patterson said.

“The only major issue is that there’ll be more LPG available than the country uses. So, right now, I’m looking at alternative uses, maybe for the transportation sector or if there is any market where I can probably bottle it and send it to the outlying regions (in Guyana).”
Jobwise, Minister Patterson said that during the construction phase, some 150-200 persons will be employed, while a team of 30-40 persons will be hired permanently for maintenance and operational works.

Of the 475 acres designated for construction, only 20-25 acres will be utilised, and discussions are ongoing for the construction of an industrial park in the remaining area to assist manufacturers with cheaper energy.

“The idea is that we can incentivise our manufacturing sector as we’ll make the same cheap electricity available to them directly, rather than go to GPL. So therefore, they will be able to produce products far cheaper,” he explained and added, “Electricity costs about 30-40 per cent of their overheads, and if we can drop that by a large percentage, we’ll now create more industries for persons.”

Additionally, the minister hopes that with the greater generation of energy that will come along with this development, there will be a reduction of total shutdowns experienced in some parts of the country, and a more stable and reliable electricity system.
But for that to happen, he said, the longstanding issue of ageing powerlines will have to be addressed simultaneously, so as to have the best possible end results.