More shorebase facilities are being developed to serve Guyana’s rapidly expanding oil and gas sector with construction set to commence on two more projects on the West Bank of Demerara sometime this year.
Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh made the disclosure during his 2022 National Budget Presentation on Wednesday. There, Dr. Singh encouraged private investors to develop port facilities at the mouth of Guyana’s main rivers to service the oil sector’s expansion.
Already, he said, riverain transport activities have increased “tremendously” particularly in the Demerara River, now home to several emerging shore base facilities and other ports catering to the offshore activities.
And to augment this new sector, the government has increased the navigational safety devices to aid and guide vessels traversing the main waterways in the Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo rivers.
According to Dr. Singh, a new pilot launch was acquired to assist vessels entering and leaving the various ports while the ‘Steve N’ vessel was rehabilitated to aid the dredging of the main channels.
While Dr. Singh did not reveal names, as early as September 2020, the Guyana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had indicated that it received several applications for such facilities.
Those identified were applications from Tristar Incorporated, JOP Property Holdings Incorporated, Baker Hughes Guyana Company Inc., and ISIKA Shore Base Inc.
NRG Holdings, a consortium of local companies, is moving to establish the massive Port of Vreed-en-Hoop facility that will feature a major shore base at Foreshore, Plantation Best on the West Bank of Demerara.
Grand Canal Industrial Estates Inc. (GCIE), a subsidiary of CGX Energy Inc., is also developing a Deep-Water Port facility in Berbice.
