President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has indicated that strategic discussions involving Guyana, Suriname, Brazil and French Guiana are set to commence early in the New Year. These discussions emanate out of some major developments that are likely to come on stream in the coming period ahead.

Among these are the building of the Corentyne River Bridge, the construction of a deep-water port in Region Six; the gas-to-shore project and the potential for new oil and gas finds. Taken together, these developments could create new opportunities for the neighbouring countries, which, together with French Guiana could constitute a new development frontier with new and vast opportunities for all the countries involved.

These are all exciting developments which will usher in a new era of business opportunities not hitherto possible. It is part of a much larger hemispheric project linking Guyana to its neighbours and, conceptually, to the whole of the Americas.

The truth is that a large part of Guyana’s economic potential remains largely untapped which could only be fully realised when a number of key infrastructural projects are undertaken. Among these are the road link between Brazil and Guyana, the completion of the deep-water project at the mouth of the Berbice River, the completion of the Corentyne River Bridge and the construction of a new four-lane bridge across the Demerara River, among others.

These are all transformational projects which will catapult Guyana to new levels of prosperity and opportunities. These projects have already gone past the conceptualisation stage and in the case of the Corentyne River Bridge, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries have already been signed. Requests for proposals from firms to undertake the works have already commenced. The bridge will be built under a ‘Design, Build, Finance, Operate, Maintain’ (DBFOM) model and when completed will link not only the two countries but the people and cultures of the two neighbouring countries.

Construction works on the deep-water port in Berbice have already commenced and is expected to be completed in 2023. This will be beneficial not only for the oil and gas sector but for the mining sector as well by way of improved transportation and communication logistics.

With Georgetown already connected to Linden by way of road, a Lethem-Linden road which actually link Georgetown to Lethem, will provide a gateway into the adjoining landlocked Brazilian state of Roraima. The Takutu Bridge was already completed in 2009 and with the construction of the Corentyne River Bridge in another few years, a road link with Suriname, Guyana and Brazil will become a reality.

A highway link from Brazil to Georgetown is part of the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRISA) which envisions connectivity with our coastal highways connected to a bridge across the Corentyne River. This would greatly facilitate trade and commerce between the private sectors and the business communities of the respective countries.

The piping of gas from the Liza field to the shore of Guyana will lower the cost of energy to Guyana. This would make the country much more competitive and could very well pave the way for the construction of an aluminum plant. Guyana has one of the largest deposits of A-grade bauxite which could be a great foreign exchange boost.

The government is also operationalising plans for renewable energy projects to support its cleaner energy mix. The energy corridor could potentially see the three adjoining countries teaming up to share power based on their respective energy needs and their ability to collectively meet those needs. These initiatives would require the development of local capacity, especially in the area of logistics and logistical support.

These are indeed visionary and forward looking ideas for which the PPP/C administration must be given credit. The project had been at the discussion stage for quite some time and the benefits have been recognised by the Inter-American Development Bank based on baseline and pre-feasibility studies done. According to the bank, the main benefits of such a project would be lower cost of energy for consumers, reduced carbon dioxide emissions and greater export earnings.