$2.7B in contracts awarded to boost food sector
A contractor signing a contract awarded to his company
A contractor signing a contract awarded to his company

THE Ministry of Agriculture, on Wednesday, awarded a total of 15 contracts valued $2.7 billion to several qualified bidders for the completion of critical projects to boost the sector nationwide.

The simple signing ceremony which was held in the ministry’s boardroom saw 12 suppliers receiving the greenlight to begin works with specified guidelines.

Some $17.9 million was awarded to CEMO to design, review and supervise the pump station at Greenwich Park/Barnwell, East Bank Essequibo.
Shereaz Bacchus General Contractor is responsible for the construction of Mahaicony Creek Right Bank Agriculture Road in Region Five, at the cost of $685.8 million.

VALS Construction will build a pump station at Cottage, Mahaicony, while another pump station will be erected at Black Bush Polder by Yunaz Civil and Building Construction, to irrigate Black Bush front lands. The agreements were signed at a value of $891.2 million and $978.7 million, respectively.

Contracts worth $108 million were also awarded to Massy Motors Limited and Memorex Enterprise for the supply of two-wheel drive tractors and trailer-mounted PTO driven pumps to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

Further, Romell Jagroop General Construction Services was awarded $2 million for the supply and delivery of white sand. Memorex Enterprise will supply sand clay for $5.9 million and VR Construction will provide crusher run at a cost of $7.9 million.

Access to the farmlands and markets are important for the supply of any agricultural scheme, and the Agriculture Ministry plans to upgrade the deteriorated sections of the road aback Bath and Blairmont, Region Five. When completed, the project will benefit 1,100 farmers and 22,000 acres of land.

Meanwhile, AAV Ragoobeer General Construction was contracted by the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) to rehabilitate the Peanut Butter Processing Packaging Facility at Karadarnau, Region Nine and to construct the packaging facility at Kumaka, Region One, at a cost of $18.5 million. The new GMC has also contracted 3D Construction to retrofit the Peanut Butter Processing Packaging Facility at Maruanau, Region Nine, while Emagination Marketing Agency will supply, deliver and install billboards.

Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said the projects are significant to the development of the nation’s food industry.
He noted that it is important for the contractors to complete works to a standard pleasing to farmers and residents.
“We will continue to monitor these projects very closely because we want value for the money spent. We want projects that when they are completed the people out there must be satisfied.”

Minister Mustapha explained that the move to initiate the projects stemmed from several consultations by the PPP/C Administration across Guyana.

“We are putting this infrastructure in place so we can mitigate future flooding and that is very important to us. We are also trying to recapitulate and rebuild GuySuCo and they are a number of projects there that we want to complete to ensure the agency strives again.”

The minister is optimistic that the PPP/C Government would take the agriculture sector to a standard no other country could match.

(DPI)

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