An Essequibo Coast businessman, who already has a hotel located in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), today opened a brand-new location in the township of Anna Regina – an investment totalling some $200M.
The five-story Jaigobin Hotel boasts 35 rooms and a large conference hall overlooking the mighty Essequibo River. It is considered a high-end establishment which will offer quality services.
The hotel is owned by businessman Ganesh Jaigobin and his family, which includes his wife, Indy Jaigobin, and two children Gavinash and Kureshma Jaigobin.
President Dr Irfaan Ali and other Cabinet members today attended the opening of the hotel which has modern amenities including a bar and lounge and a spacious lobby.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the proprietor, Ganesh Jaigobin elaborated on how his business ventures started. He said that the G&P Jaigobin and Son business was established on August 4, 1996. At the time, he was employed with Amazon’s Chemical Limited as a sales manager and his wife managed their small business which involves the distribution of groceries and beverages.
A few years later, they expanded their small business into a retail outlet at Suddie, which was eventually converted into a supermarket. Businessman Jaigobin added that their business was doing exceedingly well which allowed him to resign from his full-time job at Amazon Chemical.
In 2008, Mr. And Mrs. Jaigobin were prompted to further expand their business and as such another branch was opened in the Township of Anna Regina which is now the most prominent supermarket, making Jaigobin a household name in the county.
“We realised to survive in business that it is necessary to diversify… My grandparents usually say don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” the businessman explained.
He further noted that a careful survey was done and his family saw the need for a compatible hotel in Region Two. In 2016, they established their first hotel in Cotten Field, which eventually became inadequate for the accommodation demand in Essequibo.
He noted with the discovery of oil in Guyana, he realised that the country was about to head down a path of major economic transformation. With this in mind, in 2019, his family commenced the construction of the five-story hotel.
President Ali, during his feature address, thanked the Jaigobin family for providing new direct employment to 15 people, totaling 72 persons in their organisations.
“These are the hero in small and medium-size communities…on behalf of the Government of Guyana, I thank the family for their confidence, commitment, and courage for opening such initiative the region that provides better services to the people of Guyana,” President Ali said.
Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond, who also attended the event, lauded the initiative and noted that it will significantly boost the regional tourism industry.
“This hotel will be a base for tourists. So I am urging my fellow business colleagues in the private sector to further invest and boost tourism in the region. We have an integrative and collaborative support to expand tourism and we will work to develop the tourism sector in the region,” she said.
