President tells Berbice as sod turned for multi-purpose stadium

“TODAY is an historic day for Guyana, not only Berbice. Today we plant the trees of hope, we turned the soil for transformation and we build inspiration of hope for the next generation to come.”

Those were the words of President Mohamed Irfaan Ali yesterday as he turned the sod for the historic multi-purpose stadium in Palmyra, Berbice yesterday.

An impassioned president Ali shared his vision for sport in the Ancient County, adding that his government is developing the large talent pool located in Regions Five and Six.

His Excellency contended that part of his government’s plan for Region six includes the hosting of games in the county, hinting of big things that the government has in store.

“We are already working to bring to Guyana a world class cricket format that will see the best players in the world playing here in Guyana and this stadium is an important part of that plan. It will be comparative to any seen on television.”

He added that, “We believe in building strong partnerships and meaningful partnerships,” pointing directly to Exxonmobil Guyana’s support for the project.

ExxonMobil Guyana, through its president, Alistair Routledge, announced that they would be investing $3.7 billion that will be utilised for the multi-purpose facility.

According to Routledge, it forms part of the company’s Greater Guyana Initiative, noting that it adds to many other projects that the company has invested in within the ancient county and wider afield in Guyana.

Routledge told the gathering, “The country’s most important resource is its people; it is you. We are immensely excited to be a part of this project.”

Once completed, the facility will seat close to 10,000 persons for sporting events in the region, 6,800 general seating accommodation, 300 VIPS; 2,600 public area (Grass mound) and facilities for the differently abled, according to Latin America (LATAM) Director of Owen Steel, Andres Botero Torr.

Owen Steel and Caribbean Green Building Inc. presented a proposal for the project to the government just over 12 months ago.