THE future of Guyana has never been this bright given the high number of investments that have been made and are to be made in the next few years.
With the series of oil discoveries in Guyana, investors, particularly foreign investors, have channelled their attention to Guyana even as local players do their part to cash in on the massive economic growth that the country is on course to experience for at least the next two decades.
It is good to see local investors gearing up for the exponential growth in business expected here, as well as contributing to the changing of the physical landscape of Guyana.

In recent months, several Guyanese companies readily come to mind, namely, the Sleepin Group, Arimu Investments, Palm Court and King’s Guyana and Giftland.
The more recent being the Sleepin Group, which is investing US$6 million in a new hotel at Brickdam, Georgetown, that will create jobs for more than 75 persons. A few weeks earlier, principals of Arimu Investments turned the sod for the construction of the US$15 million Aiden Hotel at the corner of Robb and Oronoque Streets, Georgetown. This investment is expected to create employment for over 50 persons.

These aside, Sheraton, The Element, Delta Marriott, Best Western Hotels and Resorts, the H-Tower Luxury Hotel, the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, the Radisson Hotels, and the Hilton Hotels and Resorts have all indicated an interest in setting up operations here.
These investments are good news for many ordinary Guyanese as well as local businesses, largely because many of them stand to benefit as workers and suppliers of goods and services. In the construction sector, thousands of jobs will be created both directly and indirectly through the construction of these luxury edifices. Thousands of jobs will also be created directed and indirectly when these buildings are completed.

One would ask how and the answer is very simple. When an international hotel becomes operational, several areas that necessitate its existence come on stream. And among these include the creation of jobs for cooks and laundry and maintenance services. Jobs for taxi operators also increase.
When these are added and all the hotels that are being constructed and are to be constructed are taken into account, it amounts to the creation of several thousands of jobs and a positive spin off effect on local businesses, both large and small.

On a wider perspective, the investments in the hotel industry means the enablement of a modern and aesthetically pleasing landscape in terms of physical infrastructure, better tourism facilities and world class tourism services, and of course, putting the spotlight on Guyana on the global platform.
When these investments are taken together and added to investments being made and are to be made in the other sectors, unemployment seems well positioned to head on a rapid downward spiral. It is in this light that the government’s promise to provide some 50,000 jobs during its first term in office does not seem far from reach as the developments that are expected to unfold would be transformational in nature.

Much of these were alluded to by President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, who told reporters in September last year that 2021 will be the year of investment and development.
“What you will see next year (2021) is a flurry of development… there will be active work on the new Demerara Harbour Bridge, the new four-lane road, new hotels and the creation of 50,000 homes,” he had said following an inspection of the site for the new harbour bridge where he also pointed out that work will commence on the construction and rehabilitation of roads in hundreds of communities; new infrastructure and there will be major developments in every sector of the economy.