IN keeping with the rapid growth of Guyana’s economy, the Sheriff Group of Companies will be investing some US$100 million in Palmyra, Berbice, to construct a 150-room hotel and casino.

“The construction of a luxury hotel and casino will have all the modern amenities of first-world countries,” a statement from the Sheriff Group of Companies said on Sunday.

Construction of the state-of-the-art facility is slated to commence next week and is expected to be completed by December, 2024. A home away from home is what the luxury hotel and casino aim to grant. The company believes that this investment will not only aid Guyanese but also the local tourism sector.

The massive investment from the Sheriff Group of Companies comes on the heels of the construction of a 150-room Sheriff General Hospital, also at Palmyra, which will be a specialty hospital that will perform heart surgeries, eye surgeries and cancer treatment, among other medical procedures. The procedures that will be done at the new hospital will also complement those at the other hospitals.

It is the company’s intention to open the enterprise in phases, so that the people in Berbice can be employed and, most importantly, Berbicians can be given world-class healthcare services at an affordable rate without the hassle of travelling to Georgetown.

“These investments will result in the creation of hundreds of new jobs for the residents of Berbice,” the statement noted.

Earlier this year, Ameir Ahmad, proprietor of the Sheriff security firm, explained that the Sheriff Group of Companies will also erect a business/shopping centre of 500,000 sq ft. This will allow businesses to rent the space for both short and long term, also at Palmyra.

He also added that Sheriff Security has acquired a one-acre plot of land (50,000 sq. ft.), which will be converted into headquarters for the Sheriff Security Service.

“We are investing a large chunk of our budget that was supposed to be for the next five years, but we have decided to put a large portion into Berbice. We are taking a lot of risk in Berbice and hope that the Berbicians will support us,” he said.