Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has highlighted the potential of the US$300 million Vreed-en-Hoop shore base facility to provide shipping relief when operational.
Dr Jagdeo made that comment during his recent press conference. He was addressing concerns about shipping disruptions to Guyana’s private sector, caused by the recent port workers’ strike in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T).
He explained that while Guyana cannot intervene in another country’s labour disputes, investments in local port infrastructure could offer significant relief. He also reminded that the shore base is intended to support oil and gas activities but was keen to highlight that it “could allow greater movement of containers into the country.” It was here that he also stressed the government’s willingness to work with the private sector to get their goods out of T&T.while working with other entities.
Looking at the broader picture, the Vice President spoke about the government’s interest in having a deep-water harbour, as part of a long-term strategy to improve trade and logistics. He discussed the challenges of constructing such a facility, including high dredging costs, which can deter private investment.
“To go out into the Atlantic, build through a causeway into the Atlantic, maybe about six, seven kilometers out, so that you can get to deep water… then you can build a facility that will allow us to bypass our cargo, having to go Jamaica or Trinidad and Tobago, to be then placed on smaller vessels and shipped to Guyana. They can come directly to Guyana,” Jagdeo explained.
He noted that the project could cost between US$1 to US$2 billion and said co-investment by the government might be necessary to make it viable.
Moreover, Jagdeo also emphasized the importance of improved shipping infrastructure to support future exports from the government’s Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project. With Guyana expected to become an exporter of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), he explained that additional dredging along the Demerara River might be necessary to facilitate vessel access to the facility that will be located at Wales, West Bank Demerara.
“We’d move from an importer of cooking gas to an exporter of cooking gas, because… we will be producing more than we can utilize in the country. So, we’ll need to export some of those, and most of it mainly through vessels,” Jagdeo said.
The Vice President underscored that while the deep-water harbour plans are still in the conceptual phase and can be discussed, it will be best suited to be executed by the next PPP-government.
