– Investment in Guyana dubbed ‘smooth’

WITH Several massive hotel investments announced within the past week, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, said the goal is not just to have more hotel rooms created, but to see the transformation of Guyana through partnerships and innovative infrastructure that changes the landscape of the country.

The Head of State made this disclosure, on Thursday, at the sod turning ceremony of the US$45 million AC Hotels Marriott in the vicinity of Ogle on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) on Thursday.
President Ali noted that the government is committed to ensuring that it utilises resources to diversify from heavy reliance on the oil and gas sector and is committed to accessing the “low lying fruits” available in other sectors that are ready to be accessed.

This ceremony, which complements the government’s vision of adding 2,000 new rooms across the county, was the third sod turning for major investment in the hospitality sector within the past week.
President Ali noted that the major goal of government is to ensure that strategic investments are made that would allow the local hospitality sector to grow along with the massive transformational trajectory of the country.

“The goal is not a narrow goal of building more rooms in this country. If we believe that that is the goal, we’re all wasting time [because] that is just an output of the goal.
“The goal is to build a sector in which hospitality is the main cornerstone of growth and development. And to do that, one of the outputs has to be quality roots.

“Building the sector is directly related to supporting a robust, sustainable, and resilient development that is linked to many new and innovative products,” the President plugged.
The President highlighted that government has been keen on ensuring that it remains steadfast in its commitment to partnering with investors to achieve its goals for the transformation of the local economy.

The Head of State reminded that in addition to the many benefits these types of investments have in the areas of job creation, spill-off benefits such as added country visibility are also a major asset from these types of partnerships.

DIVERSIFICATION
The Head-of-State reminded that government has committed to utilising investments to bolster the other sectors in the country, noting that plans are already in place to ensure that Guyana is recognised worldwide as a hub for investment in food production, tourism, finance, and information technology.

This, the President noted, has drastically changed the landscape of Guyana, and has increased the necessity of hotels to cater to these other growing sectors.
Guyana is already known across the world as one of the fastest growing economies, but the Head-of-State has noted that partnerships with international hotels like the massive AC Marriott could only serve to give Guyana added recognition in both the business and entertainment world.

Chairman of Trinuyana Investment Inc., John Aboud, noted that the massive 152-room AC Marriott, set to be completed in 2024, is anticipated to have at least 95 per cent local employment, providing job opportunities to Guyanese at every level of the company.

“It is our stated intention to have as many nationals participate in both the construction and operational phases of this project. And when necessary, we will commence training of Guyanese nationals to assume if not all of the positions at the hotel, at least 95 per cent will be Guyanese nationals,” Aboud noted.

The investor, who said this is the first of many investment opportunities that his company is committed to undertaking in Guyana, said the investment process in Guyana is smooth.
“This project is but the first that this investment team aspires to undertake in Guyana.

“We are consistent with the vision and blueprint of the government and have identified several investment areas where we feel we can make a meaningful contribution to developing Guyana whilst providing a reasonable return to our investor group,” Aboud said.