–President says target market must extend beyond Guyana’s borders

SIGNALING that Guyana’s market is no longer the final stop for local products, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali said it is time to employ the country’s strength in the forestry sector to tap into opportunities in the international market.

The Head of state made those remarks during the launch of the first 1,000 modular timber homes by DuraVilla at Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara.

Dr. Ali said that what was being witnessed is another dimension of the country’s housing drive, as it is now positioning itself as an export industry.

He said: “It is now positioning itself as an export industry, earning foreign exchange, enhancing Guyana’s reputation as a reliable and qualified supplier of housing products and a supplier of prefabricated houses.”

Dr. Ali reiterated that housing exports could become a major foreign exchange earner for Guyana, so the government intends to give the necessary support to facilitate expansion of the vision and expansion of the market in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

This support will include bringing the financial institutions on board to support and back the housing programme locally and in the region.

“I said before that the Guyana Market is no longer Guyana, Guyana’s market is the world market. We don’t only have wood, we have the best quality wood in the world,” President Ali said.

This is one of the reasons why the investment made by DuraVilla is so important, he reasoned. The Head of State thanked several regional leaders who have been embracing the initiative.

He went on to say that not only is the product that has been created a timber home, but it is also a home that meets all the international requirements that countries like Barbados need to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes.

“That is no easy accomplishment, and everything is engineered locally,” President Ali said.

The Head of State added that Guyana must position the prefabricated housing industry to respond to natural disasters. As such, he mentioned that if natural disasters are to wipe out hundreds of homes, homes should be ready for deployment.

Added to this, the Head of State said that the government has committed to promote partnerships and catalyse private sector participation.

“In our manifesto, we committed to promote partnership and catalyse private sector partnership in housing. This is an example of that partnership, this is an example of the government working with the private sector for a vision beyond Guyana,” Dr. Ali remarked.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DuraVilla Homes Guyana Inc., Rafeek Khan told the gathering that this initiative was birthed quite some time ago and last year a model house was built and displayed at the Energy Conference, where the Barbados Prime Minister saw it and asked that two homes be shipped to Barbados.

After those homes were shipped, the company acquired a contract with Barbados for 100 of these structures.

Additionally, the company also signed a contract with St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada has expressed interest in procuring these modular homes.

“While in Guyana we have these various building concepts, export is where we need to go to get better value for the products that we are promoting,” Khan said.

He added that there is significant growth taking place in the forestry sector, and this initiative further pushes the growth of the non-oil sector.

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat commended DuraVilla and related that it is a demonstration of partnership between the Government of Guyana and the private sector.

Bharrat added that it is also a true demonstration of President Ali’s commitment to grow the non-oil economy and not make the same mistake like many other oil producing nations have made.

He said that the government will continue to facilitate investment in the forestry sector, while also sustaining Guyana’s forests.