–Vreed-en-Hoop Shore Base Inc. investor says

THE Vreed-en-Hoop Shore Base Inc. (VEHSI) will not only transform Guyana’s energy landscape, but also has the potential to become a major player in the country’s commercial trade industry, Director of Guyana Oil and Gas Support Services, Nicholas Deygoo has said.

Deygoo, during a presentation on day three of Guyana’s Energy Conference and Expo 2023, at the Marriot Hotel, said while the facility was conceptualised to complement the rapid growth of the oil and gas sector, there is great potential to diversify.

“We did studies that showed if we can have deeper ports here, it is possible we could bring down the cost of shipping at least around 10-12 per cent,” Deygoo said while addressing several experts and potential investors at the International Energy Conference and Expo.

The idea, he said, is not to only bring value to the country’s domestic growth but also provide incentives that can benefit the average citizen.

“For a country that has a certain amount of items manufactured, but if you go to the grocery store and you pick things up off of the shelf you’ll see a lot of importation.

That 10 to 12 per cent can have a huge impact on the average person’s daily spending,” Deygoo related.

The Vreed-en-Hoop Shore base Inc. is a sub-project of a larger port facility that includes the oil and gas shore base section as well as a commercial port, for shipping containers, fuel tank firm and an industrial facility, for companies which want to lease space to do business close to the port.

Works have already commenced on the project and so far an artificial island is being built in the Demerara River.

This new island is part of the reclaimed land that will be transformed into an estimated 44-acre mega-project to create the shore base facility.

This facility will form part of the port of Vreed-en-Hoop. The project is currently in the sand key reclamation and compaction phase.

During this phase, the dredger, M.V Galileo Galilei, will continue the process of adding reclaimed material to create the artificial island on which the new terminal will be constructed.

Deygoo believes the northern half of the facility can be transformed into a port for commercial shipping.

“Everything north of that is possible expansion, which means it’s possibilities for businesses in general cargo, general purpose shipping, possibilities in a tank farm and liquid bulk storage, general industrial area, or other types of work activities.

“We are actively enticing clients who want to help develop this and get into discussions with us,” he added.

Once completed, the facility will not only service the oil and gas industry, but will also cater to all sectors that require a port facility.

Meanwhile, as construction is ongoing, land mass will continue to be expanded.

Works began back in June 2022, these entailed dredging the access channel in the Demerara River, including the deepening/widening of the existing nautical channel, berth pockets, and turning basin.

The project managers have hailed this phase a success and the upgraded channel has been handed over to the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD).

The VEHSI is currently the largest Guyanese private sector investment in the oil and gas sector and is expected to cost over US$300 million.

VEHSI. which is 15 per cent owned by Belgium company, Jan De Nul, is part of NRG Holdings Inc., which is 100 per cent Guyanese owned company. NRG was birthed out of a consortium among Boyer from National Hardware Guyana Ltd, Alphonso from ZRN and Mohamed of Hadi’s World.