DEVELOPMENT of the Stabroek Wharf and Vreed-en-Hoop Stelling will form an important part of an overall water front plan that will significantly enhance Guyana’s infrastructure aesthetics. Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, said though the ministry has not yet definitively pronounced on the way forward for the two facilities, discussions are ongoing and they are still being considered in the context of the overall development of Guyana’s waterfront landscape, and not just a matter of replacing the structures.
“The Vreed-en-Hoop Stelling and Stabroek Wharf must be seen in the context of development of the water front, facilitating the oil and gas sector, shore base development and enhancing commercial activities in a modern Guyana. So we are not just looking at repairs of stelling to facilitate speed boats or boats,” Edghill explained.
In 2017, the Caribbean Development Bank approved a grant of $161M to fund a feasibility study and designs for the rehabilitation of the coastal and river infrastructure, including the Stabroek and Vreed-en-Hoop Stellings.

Works on several areas on Guyana’s waterfront, including the Stabroek Wharf and Vreed-en-Hoop Stellings, were then expected to be part of a £53.2M grant from the United Kingdom’s Caribbean Infrastructure Fund (UK CIF) to improve or create new infrastructure to drive economic growth and development in Guyana.
Edghill explained that the funding from the UK CIF was concentrated on a priority infrastructure.
“We have not definitively proceeded to act on the consultancy for the waterfront development which was supposed to be funded by the UK CIF. Rather we have reprogrammmed all of that money under the UK CIF into a priority area, the Linden-Mabura Road, so that’s where we are right now,” the minister said.
However, he does not believe funding for the project should be hard to come by as Guyana continues its development.
“With what has transpired since we entered into office, with EoI for hotels, Guyana shoreline will look differently, and not everything will even be done by government, there will be even private sector development and public development,” he said.

Aside from the Demerara Harbour Bridge, water taxis that transport persons between the Stabroek and Vreed-en-Hoop Stellings are one of the main medium used by persons traversing between the West and East sides of the Demerara River.
Thousands of persons utilise the facility on a daily basis; however, the two structures have been in a dilapidated state for some time. At the Stabroek Wharf, zinc sheets dangle dangerously, after a section of the roof caved in a few years ago.
In 2018, vendors at the Stabroek Wharf were relocated to a section of the Stabroek Market Square after it was labelled a danger zone for the vendors and other citizens. Further compounding the issue, in November 2018, the wharf was ravaged by fire in a suspected act of arson.
To make the facilities safer for commuters until an entire overhaul could be done, last year, over $20 million in remedial works were carried out, with $13 million spent to remedy conditions at the Stabroek Stelling, including works on the speed boat platform.
Edghill explained that in the interim, the conditions of the two facilities are being monitored to ensure safety of commuters.
“Since assuming her role, the chairman of the Transport and Harbours Advisory Board has done site visits and has made several recommendations about things to be done. At the level of the THD, safety and facilities that provide some level of comfort and ease of movements are issues that are being addressed,” Edghill explained.