President Ali says; affirms that gov’t is responding to critical demands of citizens with key investments

RAPID development is underway in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), where economic prosperity is being attained and recorded in various sectors.
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali during an engagement with residents of Uitvlugt and neighbouring communities, acknowledged the ongoing development, noting: “Region Three is one of the fastest-growing regions in terms of the demand for homes, the growth in housing and the industrial development.”

He further said: “The infrastructural landscape of the region is also changing rapidly: we have more roads being built; we are expanding the highways.”
As the President addressed the 32 families who received housing units from Anna Catherina to Leonora, he referenced several huge projects that are ongoing in Region Three.
The Head of State related: “We are doing the highway from Schoonord to Crane; that highway will be opened long before the end of the year and then there is a whole new gas-to-shore road service being constructed, going all the way to Wales.

“We will then expand that highway from Crane going all the way to Parika. So, every single area will be connected, interconnected to these two new highways.”
With the region booming with development and opportunities, the President said that in order to support the growing demand for various services, his government is working on ensuring that the facilities, particularly those that offer health care services, are capable of catering to the people in the best way possible.

“We are also working on ensuring that the healthcare facilities are there to support the growing demand here,” Dr. Ali said.
Among some of the massive investments in the health care sector, the President said, is a new regional hospital being constructed at De Kinderen and the planned upgrade of the West Demerara Hospital.

The facility will have about 75 inpatient beds, two operating theatres, one minor theatre, imaging suite (digital x-rays, ultrasound, CT scans), as well as state-of-the- art accident and emergency and outpatient departments.

In 2022, the Ministry of Health had commissioned a $30 million blood bank at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.
The facility possesses all of the necessary equipment for blood storage; this allowed the hospital to perform surgeries faster and save more lives.
In 2023, the government allocated a mammoth $84 billion budget to ensure there is rapid infrastructural development, as well as better access to primary healthcare.
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, said that $1 billion was allocated for retrofitting health posts and health centres countrywide.

In addition, $13.1 billion was allocated to advance preparatory works on six modern regional hospitals, and the Paediatric and Maternity Hospital.