WITH Guyana experiencing the largest wave of industrial and commercial boom unmatched at any other point in its history, this surge is fuelling job creation while reshaping the nation’s landscape.
This was highlighted by the Senior Minister within the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, during a recently-aired interview.
As he explained how the construction boom goes beyond public investment, Singh said: “You have private industrial and commercial construction taking place [more] than at any other time in the country’s history. You’re seeing it. The landscape and the physical face of the country are changing as we speak. There are more factories, more warehouses, more processing plants, more office buildings and office towers going up than we’ve ever seen before.”
According to the minister, the transformation of Guyana’s landscape through private investments is occurring alongside public sector investments, which are resulting in the construction of state-of-the-art hospitals, schools, bridges and roads.
Public sector investments are also creating thousands of jobs, Singh explained.
Beyond construction, he pointed to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s deliberate and strategic policies, which seek to build a Guyana where citizens can “live, work, earn, save and invest and retire comfortably.”
Last year, President Irfaan Ali reaffirmed that Guyana’s rapid industrial and infrastructural expansion is strategically positioning the nation as a central player in South America’s emerging regional integration plan.
He had also noted that since taking the helm of Government in 2020, the local private sector has grown significantly, resulting in his government’s commitment to creating more than 60,000 jobs being surpassed.
President Ali had emphasised that robust policies, strategic investments, and a business-friendly environment have fostered unparalleled growth across multiple sectors, strengthened investor confidence, and created sustainable employment opportunities.
Guyana’s Mid-Year Report reflected robust growth across key sectors of the economy. According to the report, credit to the private sector increased by 7.7 per cent to $485.4 billion during the first half of the year.
Lending to the services sector grew by 4.9 percent to $165.6 billion, while manufacturing and agriculture recorded growth rates of 12.4 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. Expansion in the manufacturing sector was driven by lending for construction and engineering, which rose by 76.9 percent and 8.9 percent, while telecommunications saw a 24.7 per cent increase.
RISING CONFIDENCE & INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Since returning to office in 2020, the PPP/C administration has prioritised fostering an enabling environment for both large and small businesses, promoting job creation, economic diversification, and sustained non-oil sector growth.
Minister Singh also disclosed that Guyana has attracted more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) than at any other point in its history.
He said: “We have seen more, and this is reflected in FDI inflows and in the establishment of new companies and new businesses that are foreign-owned, that have come to Guyana, that have either set up operations or entered into partnerships with Guyanese companies and set up operations and you see them.
“They’re everywhere. This is reflected in the growth in domestic private investment. And here again, you see new Guyanese businesses and new Guyanese companies being set up everywhere, in every single sector and subsector of the economy.”
The FDI, in just two years (2021 to 2023), was also more than three times the FDI that the former APNU+AFC government was ever able to attract during its five-year tenure in office.
The PPP/C government’s efforts to strengthen public-private partnerships, modernise infrastructure, and diversify the economy have been pivotal in catalysing the nation’s investment boom.
However, the government has also been keen to ensure that the benefits of this influx of capital are felt across the economy, and notably, the expansion of the private sector, driven by foreign investments, is generating thousands of jobs and contributing to an overall improvement in the standard of living for Guyanese citizens.