Guyanese investors must be the primary owners of a planned fertilizer plant and a gas bottling and logistics company at Wales on the West Bank of Demerara, with the government prepared to underwrite investor returns, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said on Thursday.
Jagdeo said the state intends to structure both projects to ensure significant local ownership, including carve-outs for small investors, while offering returns well above commercial bank deposit rates.
“They can get a guarantee and a very lucrative return, and we will underwrite the return on that,” Jagdeo said about the fertilizer plant, adding that returns of up to about 10% were possible compared with roughly 1% at the bank.
Guyana plans to construct a US$300 million ammonia and urea plant at Wales as part of its strategy to add value to natural gas produced offshore. The government is accepting proposals for the plant, which will use up to 20 million cubic feet of gas per day from the second phase of the Gas-to-Energy project.
The plant is expected to produce about 300,000 metric tons of fertilizer annually and become operational by 2028, targeting domestic and regional markets, including the Caribbean and northern Brazil, to help lower fertilizer prices and boost agricultural productivity.
Separately, the government is seeking proposals for a public-private partnership to design, build and operate a gas bottling and logistics company to supply cooking gas locally and export surplus volumes.
Jagdeo said cooking gas could be sold at roughly half current prices while still remaining profitable, citing lower input costs from domestic gas supply. Annual domestic demand is equivalent to about three million 20-pound cylinders, with retail sales valued at roughly GY$14 billion (US$67 million) per year.
Both projects, for which proposals are due in January, are tied to Guyana’s Gas-to-Energy project, which includes a completed offshore-to-onshore pipeline from fields operated by ExxonMobil, a 300-megawatt power plant and a natural gas liquids facility under construction at Wales. The facilities are expected to be completed by mid-2026.
