— as Guyana advances Berbice deep-water port, modern port network

GUYANA’S push to become a regional trade and logistics hub has taken another major step forward, with the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) now leading a high-level investment mission to Europe, even as work accelerates on plans for a Berbice deep-water port and a wider network of modern port facilities across the country.

Chief Investment Officer and Head of GO-Invest, Peter Ramsaroop, is heading what has been described as “a ground-breaking investment mission to Europe” from 20–28 November, 2025, bringing together senior public officials and key private-sector players from Guyana and the wider Caribbean.

The EU-funded mission will see the delegation visiting some of Europe’s most advanced ports and logistics hubs in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, including Marseille, Antwerp-Bruges, Rotterdam and Málaga.

Over eight days, the team will examine port operations, governance structures, digital logistics systems and agro-processing value chains, while holding talks with EU policymakers, port authorities, logistics operators and academic institutions.

According to GO-Invest, the visit is “offering Guyanese stakeholders an unprecedented opportunity to study leading European ports, logistics systems and agro-processing operations” and adapt practical models that can strengthen Guyana’s own emerging port and logistics architecture.

SUPPORTING ALI’S DEEP-WATER PORT VISION IN BERBICE

The mission comes at a pivotal moment as President, Dr Irfaan Ali has already signalled that a comprehensive feasibility study for the Berbice Deep-water Port is currently underway, led by global engineering firm Bechtel and jointly financed by the Government of Guyana and Hess Corporation.

Speaking at the Shipping Association of Guyana’s networking and business mixer at the Marriott Hotel in July, President Ali had said the study would set the blueprint for one of the country’s most critical infrastructural projects, aimed at expanding shipping capacity, lowering freight costs and positioning Guyana “as a major trade and logistics hub, connecting South America and the Caribbean.”

The Berbice deep-water port is being designed to anchor a wider logistics ecosystem, including integrated rail or road infrastructure, once final assessments on economic viability and return on investmen are completed. It will also support the development of Guyana’s second gas project, which is to be built in Berbice.

Crucially, the President has stressed that Guyanese businesses must sit at the centre of this transformation.

“We’ve made it very clear that our local operators must have an important stake in the project, in its totality,” President Ali had explained, noting that local companies are already mobilising financing to take advantage of the opportunity.

PUBLIC–PRIVATE TEAM IN EUROPE

Reflecting that focus on local participation, the EU study mission brings together a strong mix of state agencies and private companies.

Ramsaroop is being accompanied by Senior Director of Investment at GO-Invest, John Edghill and representatives of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), the Private Sector Commission, the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO), Vreed-en-Hoop Shorebase Inc. (VEHSI), Crane Guyana Inc., Guyana Port Inc., Western Logistics Guyana, Banks DIH Ltd., Demerara Distillers Ltd. (DDL), UMAMI Inc. and other local firms.

Select participants from Antigua, Barbados, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, along with EU Delegation officials and technical specialists from FIAP, are also part of the mission, which is being coordinated under the Caribbean-EU Cooperation Facility.

The delegation will engage with European experts on port governance, cold-chain management, clustering, agro-innovation and market access, including through exchanges with institutions such as Wageningen University and specialised research centres in Spain. The mission is expected to deliver both short-term and long-term dividends.

GO-Invest says the programme is designed to generate “practical insights into port governance and logistics efficiency, potential partnerships and investment opportunities” and to shape actionable pilot projects that can boost Guyana’s export competitiveness and domestic processing capacity.

These efforts merge with the national development platform advanced by President Ali, including commitments made at the recent Berbice Development Summit.

There, the Head of State identified the Berbice deep-water port as a flagship undertaking to expand maritime capacity, improve logistics performance and create a modern gateway linking Guyana more effectively with regional and international markets.

That deep-water port will complement a series of other connectivity projects already in train, such as the new bridge across the Corentyne River to Suriname, the upgrading and extension of the Linden–Lethem Road and other strategic corridors designed to knit Guyana into continental and regional supply chains.

NEW PORTS AT PARIKA, CHARITY AND BLAIRMONT

Beyond Berbice, government and private-sector investments are reshaping Guyana’s wider port footprint.

The government is currently transforming the Parika Stelling into a modern international port facility, with works expected to accelerate in the coming months.

Once completed, the $4.5 billion Parika port will allow Guyanese exporters to move goods more efficiently into Caribbean markets, while also providing berthing for cruise liners and cargo ships and offering new options for passenger and luxury travel.

At Charity, Region Two, a new $880 million multi-purpose wharf and port facility is also under construction, aimed at enhancing riverain trade, supporting hinterland communities and strengthening domestic supply chains.

In Berbice, local port operators Muneshwers Limited and John Fernandes Limited, through their joint venture Cranes Guyana Inc., are set to invest over US$285 million in a modern port facility at Blairmont, West Coast Berbice.

The companies are in the process of finalising financing with investors for the first phase of the project, which is expected to dovetail with the emerging deep-water port framework and the broader Berbice industrial build-out.

For government and private stakeholders alike, the European mission is not a sightseeing tour but a targeted exercise in institution-building.

Officials say the practical lessons drawn from European ports, ranging from digitalised logistics systems and governance models to agro-processing clusters and cold-chain logistics, will inform the design, regulation and operation of Guyana’s own ports and logistics corridors.

The initiative is also aligned with Team Europe’s Global Gateway Investment Agenda, which seeks to deepen economic linkages between the EU and the Caribbean through strategic infrastructure, green and digital investments and stronger value-chain integration.