— for Region Seven; over 100 jobs to be created

A GROWING demand for construction materials has prompted local company,Hadi’s World Inc., to venture into the quarry industry with a project estimated at US$3 million.

According to a project summary seen by the Guyana Chronicle, the site for this operation, which stretches for about 200 acres, is bounded east and south by the Mazaruni River, and west and north by the Puruni-Itaballi Road.

The Institute of Quarrying defines quarrying as an activity which involves the process of removing rock, sand, gravel, or other minerals from the ground, to use them to produce materials for construction or other purposes.

Hadi’s World Inc., through its proposed quarrying operations, will produce more than 1.2 million tonnes of aggregate and boulders over a period of five years.

This, according to the company, will be achieved through conventional open-pit mining techniques using bulldozers to clear the mining area and remove the topsoil, which will be loaded with front-end loaders and transported by haul trucks to topsoil storage areas.

The overburden will be stripped by excavators, loaded into haul trucks and transported to the waste dumps.

The exposed rocks will be drilled, blasted and transported by haul trucks to the crushing plant stockpile. After crushing, the material will be stockpiled for later transportation to the market via tugs and barges.

“The general objective in planning for the provision of these materials is to ensure that the supply is managed in a sustainable way, so the best balance is obtained between environmental, economic and social considerations.

“As observed in other industries, successful market leaders are those who provide an efficient and effective service and are mindful of all aspects of their public image. The modern community demands that these premises be managed carefully with consideration of the needs of the environment, neighbours and employees,” Hadi’s World Inc. said.

RELIABLE SUPPLY
In the company’s view, the quarry industry’s role is to provide a reliable supply of construction materials for road-making, building-construction, and the maintenance of road networks on which other industries depend.

Speaking about the potential for advancement in the local quarrying industry, President, Dr Irfaan Ali, had said: “Guyana has a huge quarry potential that has been greatly underdeveloped. Our accelerated housing programme, massive highways, and community roads to be developed will increase our demand three-fold over the next five years.”

Not only will such operations address possible market shortages, they will also create direct and indirect employment opportunities for hundreds or even thousands of Guyanese.

For instance, as outlined by Hadi’s World Inc., approximately 100 persons will be employed full time and they will be drawn largely from a pool of skilled locals.

In addition to supporting the operations to which they are attached, persons employed in the quarry industry will be contributing to the overall development of Guyana’s infrastructural landscape.

Addressing the plans for infrastructural advancement this year, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had said that the intention is to have innovative and modern public infrastructure.

The government has allocated the largest portion of its milestone $552.9 billion Budget 2022 to the Ministry of Public Works. A total of $96.1 billion has been allocated to the ministry, which is responsible for the country’s infrastructure.

Further, the government has allocated some $76.7 billion for roads and bridges to the Ministry of Public Works in the 2022 budget.

Another component of public infrastructure is the construction of houses and the accompanying facilities to make the environment conducive to living. To this end, the government has allocated $12.4 billion for further development within the housing sector.

“With the construction boom underway, particularly pertaining to the rapid expansion in housing and road projects, the development and expansion of the other mining and quarrying sub-sector is crucial,” Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, had said.

This expansion, he related, has the potential of lowering construction costs, since the abundance of local, readily available resources could ease the impact of imported inflationary pressure on the cost of key construction materials.