RECENT infrastructure investments in Guyana are a testament to the benefits the country is already experiencing directly due to the development of the oil and gas sector. While many Guyanese are rightly curious about when they will feel benefits themselves, it should be understood Guyana is still at the very beginning of this road, including the fact that this is the first year the government has spent any oil revenues.
However, when talking about tangible impacts and benefits to Guyanese, major infrastructure is starting to be a highly visible example. For example, the US$300 million Vreed-en-Hoop shorebase facility will play a major role in transforming Region Three along the West Coast of Demerara. The Vreed-en-Hoop Shorebase Incorporated (VEHSI) is a joint venture between the 100 percent Guyanese-owned consortium NRG Holdings and an international maritime infrastructure company. This project broke ground in June and is set to bring more opportunities and investments to the region as it services ExxonMobil and other companies’ offshore oil operations.

At present, a dredge ship can currently be seen operating in the Demerara Ship Channel as part of this project, which will ultimately allow larger ships to access the Georgetown Harbour.

Notably, new training programme opportunities are also being developed that will give residents the training and skill development necessary to take advantage of the benefits and opportunities of the country’s growing oil and gas industry. VEHSI is expected to provide a number of new jobs and bring services to Guyana that are currently outsourced to Trinidad and elsewhere.

In June at the sod-turning event to mark the commencement of the facility, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, highlighted that the project will “make this region a hub, just as Region Four is. I believe that it will also drive huge economic spin-offs into different industries.”

While the VEHSI is one major development on the horizon, the country is also seeing significant growth and investment in other areas that will benefit the local economy. A key example of this is the gas-to-energy power plant project being developed in Guyana that will bring up to 140 million cubic feet per day of natural gas from the Stabroek Block onshore to be processed and used in a multitude of ways that will benefit burgeoning sectors and communities.

Furthermore, it will serve as a means of energy independence, lower electricity costs and a diversification away from imported fossil fuels for Guyana. This country has long experienced some of the most costly and unreliable power in the region, which adversely effects the private sector and its ability to invest and continue to do business in Guyana. The government has made it clear how interested it is in this project and its desire to lower the cost of power by more than 50 percent for Guyanese, while making local companies more competitive and reducing pollution.

The gas-to-energy project in Guyana is a massive investment in oil and gas infrastructure for the country that could be completed as early as 2024. The use of this gas will be a major contributor to Guyana’s power supply and a critical element in supporting the country’s energy transition and securing the foreign investments flowing into the country.
But as more revenues come in and the economy continues to grow at double digit rates, it will require major investments in local development like roads. Congestion and higher infrastructure demands are typical growing pains for this kind of rapid economic expansion.

Fortunately, these investments are well within Guyana’s reach now. Progress can be made quickly to the long list of infrastructure projects Guyana has not been able to afford until now. Guyana is pushing massive road and bridge projects to meet the demand from more than 100,000 new vehicles registered in the last five years, according to the Inter-American Development Bank.

To alleviate congestion and boost local infrastructure, the government is addressing this by working on the roads from Ogle, East Coast Demerara to Eccles, East Bank Demerara by joining the two corridors which is a US$100 million project. Another influx of investment from the Islamic Development Bank will finance an 80-kilometer rehabilitation of the Linden Soesdyke highway in the country. The government has also approved the Amaila Falls hydropower project after years of delays due to Guyana’s formerly uncertain financial situation. As Guyana continues to see these investments pour in, the modernisation of transport infrastructure in the country will benefit the people greatly by reducing congestion and air pollution while improving safety.

While surrounded by global economic uncertainty, Guyana continues to develop at a rapid rate. The country is growing quickly across all sectors and the investments being made in Guyana are positioning the country as an emerging market leader, both in the region and globally. But it is worth remembering that the benefits will not reach all citizens overnight. Money from oil revenues is beginning to flow into education, healthcare and infrastructure for the first time, but spending this money wisely in a way that benefits all Guyanese will be the work of a generation.