WORKS are continuing at the Gas-to-Energy (GtE) Project site at Wales, West Bank Demerara, with ongoing progress being recorded across key areas of the development, according to Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.
In a Facebook post accompanied by photographs of the site, the Vice President highlighted continued civil works and industrial installations as construction advances on the flagship energy project.
During a press conference last week, President Dr Irfaan Ali said the planned GtE developments would underpin a broad industrial build-out in the Wales Development Zone, supported by cheaper electricity and new port facilities.
He disclosed that the government is already looking at a cluster of gas-linked industries at Wales, including petrochemical and logistics operations as well as a data centre.
“Already we know we are looking at an ammonia durian plant, a gas bottling and logistics facility, the glass factory, a data centre, NGL storage, and LNG facilities,” the President told reporters.
The Head of State stressed that the project will be closely linked to port infrastructure and wider economic activity.
“So that, of course, will be linked to a lot of development in terms of port facilities, and then the opportunities that will come from cheaper energy in agro processing, manufacturing, and industrial development to allow this, of course, you know, the enabling infrastructure was the pipeline coming on stream,” he added.
Beyond the onshore industrial zone, the President signalled that government is treating fuel storage and supply security as a strategic priority in light of global energy disruptions. He said discussions are ongoing with interested parties on a major storage facility and pointed to the potential for a refinery led by investors.
“We are very concerned, like the rest of the world, with what is happening, the closure of the strait, and also the consequential effect of the attack on different facilities within the Gulf States, because a lot of this attack has taken out storage and production facilities, and that will have tremendous effect on future supply,” he said.
He highlighted too the knock-on effects on supply and transport.
“We don’t know what the challenges from the supply side will be, that is why in the long term we have to think about what will constitute our security, but in the short term we have been speaking with all our suppliers,” he said adding:
“We are consistently talking to suppliers to ensure that we have a supply and then working out on some interventions in the medium and long term.”
