BARBADOS’ MINISTER of Housing, Land, and Maintenance, Dr. William Duguid has disclosed his government’s openness in investing in Guyana through purchasing plywood from local wood products company, Barama Company Limited.

Minister Duguid was accompanied by Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar; Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal; and Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat to Barama’s facility on Saturday.

The government through an agreement between President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, is facilitating high-ranking government officials from Barbados to trade expertise in the housing sector in an effort to foster better collaboration between the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations.

Even as Minister Duguid expressed his governments’ openness to procuring plywood from Guyana, he also disclosed its willingness to trade expertise in improving the production level of the company by decreasing its production cost.

He noted that this decrease in the cost of production would have a direct, positive impact on the construction and housing sectors.

“The first thing I can see is opportunity to be able to purchase in various thicknesses, ply, which is the first opportunity here, but then also, I can see a benefit to be able to look at having green hydrogen and being able to harvest that green hydrogen to provide electricity for the facility. There is also the possibility of installing a photovoltaic system on the roof here, to be able to provide energy and give them the opportunity to get energy recovery, and by extension, get a better, or reduce the price of the product for the construction industry,” Minister Duguid said.

HOUSING SECTOR COLLABORATION
Speaking to some of the preliminary suggestions Barbados would give to Guyana for an innovative housing sector, Minister Duguid stated that his government is big on “harnessing the sun” in an effort to provide electricity that covers or reduces the cost of housing.

He noted that solar water-heating is a key component used in Barbados to reduce the cost of electricity used to heat water for domestic use, contending that this is one opportunity from which Guyana can greatly benefit.

The Barbados Housing Minister further stated that improved technology could also benefit the sector, stating, “We have a technology using what’s called light guage steel cladding with a concrete board is the second thing that we can use. And then the third thing, in addition to those two is then to be able to bring a different foundation technology that we’ve been using as well.”

Minister Duguid also stated that his guided tour has been beneficial in informing him of some key components that could drastically improve Barbados’ housing sector. He noted that his government is open to learning how Guyana produces its housing columns and infills and plans to adopt those systems for its own housing sector.

READY FOR BUSINESS
Minister within the Ministry of Public works Deodat Indar noted that Barama and by extension, Guyana, is ready for business, once the Barbados Government moves ahead with its plans to import plywood from the company.

He highlighted that the company’s geographical location positions it to be easily accessible to conduct business with Guyana’s sister state, saying, “Once they agree on the commercial side, the logistics are in place because this company sits right by the waterfront, the ships can come right here, they can load, and they can take it out. So, all in all, I think they are very happy, based on what the minister said. Mr. Mahendra Chand, who is the managing-director for Barama, is also excited because it will create additional output for his manufacturing facility.”

LOCALS TO BENEFIT
Minister Indar noted that the new investment opportunity is set to benefit not just government, but also locals, directly. He highlighted that Barama purchases its wood for production from “community loggers,” acknowledging that once the demand for exports increases so will the demand on the side of Barama, and the locals will have the opportunity to supply more lumber to the facility.

He noted that once Barbados continues to see avenues to import resources from other sectors to benefit its housing sector, the country and its local producers will continue to benefit.

“Once you have more demand here, it means more demand from the community. If you need sand, is more production at the sandpit; if you need aggregates and more production, these aggregates are the crusher. So once demand goes up, there’s more activity at the source, and that creates the business for Guyana,” said Minister Indar.

With the government continuing its vision to procure international investments in Guyana to grow the local economy, Minister Indar reminded that the government is committed to providing a level playing field for all investors and potential investors.

He noted that with government managing to maintain a stable economy despite the events following the 2020 elections, coupled with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has given investors confidence in the country’s readiness for investment.

He also indicated that the government intends to continue allowing all investors the same opportunities.

“The first thing you look at is instability, and we have managed after the elections of 2020 to stabilise this environment, so that is why you see a huge influx of investors into Guyana. But even while seeing that influx we are making sure that we treat everybody equally; we are working with them when they come in,” he said.