Guyana Shore Base Inc. (GYSBI) said it achieved a milestone of 250 days without Loss Time Injuries (LTIs) and has also successfully delivered and placed 1,000,000 cm³ of sand at the Wales, West Bank Demerara site, which is being prepared for the significant Gas-to-Energy project.
LTIs are injuries that result in a loss of productive work time, including both temporary and permanent disabilities that prevent an employee from returning to work or performing regular tasks.
GYSBI said it was contracted by the government’s Gas-to-Energy contractor (CH4-Lindsayca) to execute earth, soil remediation and surcharge works at the site. Physical works commenced on August 31, 2023, with the last stage of the contract expected to be completed by the end of this month.
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Prior to this engagement with CH4-Lindsayca, GYSBI was contracted by ExxonMobil Guyana to execute the early works and heavy haul road at the site. This included the construction of five bridges, an access road, a heavy haul road, and the initial site preparation for the integrated plant site.
At a simple ceremony to mark the achievement, Executive Director of GYSBI, Robin Muneshwer said that the work has been remarkable.
“It started when we won the Early Works project with Exxon. It was a small project at the time, and it was in the middle of the jungle. We won the Heavy Haul Road project and then migrated to the LINDSAYCA CH4 project, which we are at now. I am blown away by what we have been able to achieve in the middle of nowhere. To achieve this record in safety in this harsh territory is quite a feat. Importantly, this 250 days LTIs free is only for the LINDSAYCA Project. This does not include those works that we did for ExxonMobil earlier on,” he related.
On the logistics side, Muneshwer indicated that due to the distance and location of the project, moving materials such as sand, proved to be a challenge. However, the company was able to work around these challenges and has now transported and placed over 1,000,000 cm3 sand at the site.
While he acknowledged the work that has been done so far, the Executive Director noted that it is even more important that the workers and all Guyanese alike see the bigger picture and realize the value of the project.
“The significance of this project cannot be overstated in national terms because power has been one of the issues that has been plaguing Guyana for many decades. It has plagued businesses; we do not have cheap sources of power for manufacturing, etc. So, this project is the absolute game changer for Guyana,” he related.
Almir Dapo, Construction Manager for the project, discussed the projects. “I am happy that we are here to celebrate something that is huge in numbers. We started here in 2022 with Exxon and I remember it was a very small team building the roads, etc. For us back then, we were coming to an empty area filled with forest. There were no roads or bridges. Today, we have built the bridges, roads and now self discharging barges are coming here every day to deliver sand. [This achievement] took a lot of trucks, movements, day shifts and night shifts,” he said.
Project Manager at the site, Evgenii Angarskii shared that more than 200 pieces of equipment operate at the site.
The equipment is complemented by 250 staff members, who are directly employed with GYSBI. With the inclusion of third-party contractors and service providers, GYSBI said the site sees more than 400 persons every day.
