AS the government continues to work to transform the forestry sector while at the same time increasing the country’s value-based productive capacity, President, Dr Irfaan Ali says negotiations are ongoing with several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries for the construction of over 2,000 Guyanese pre-fabricated timber houses.

Dr Ali said this during the official opening of the $1.2 billion Republic Bank Williamsburg Branch at Rose Hall, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) last week where he told residents that there is a massive transformation taking place across the country.

“For the first time in the history of our country, we’re in negotiations with many countries around CARICOM for the building of Guyanese timber pre-fab homes,” President Ali remarked.

He added: “Negotiations are ongoing for the building of more than 2,000 Guyanese prefab timber homes and I think we ought to be very, very proud of this. That tells you about the investment that has been made, the technology that has been transferred and the innovation that has been occurring within the forestry sector.”

The head of state said that it was the kind of advance that the government had been doing to ensure that the country has a value-based productive capacity.
Notably, on January 20, 2023, the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines signed a six million EC loan arrangement with Demerara Bank Ltd (Guyana) for the purchase of 50 ‘prefab’ houses.

In February 2023, the first 1,000 modular timber homes by DuraVilla at Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara were launched.
The President said then that the developments were another dimension of the country’s housing drive, as it is now positioning itself as an export industry.

“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 the expansion of the vision and expansion of the market in CARICOM.
This support will include bringing the financial institutions on board to support 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.
He noted that the timber houses meet all the international requirements that countries like Barbados need in order 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 noted that if natural disasters are to wipe out hundreds of houses, Guyana should have the prefab homes ready for deployment.