Canadian company CGX Energy, through subsidiary Grand Canal Industrial Estates (GCIE), has asserted that the deepwater port currently under construction on the eastern bank of Berbice River, will significantly boost local content in the oil and gas sector and the agriculture sector.
In a recent financial statement, CGX provided an update on the work that is ongoing on the Berbice Deep Water Port. They are aiming to commence cargo terminal services late this year and begin operating the oil and gas support base in mid-2024.
According to CGX, when the deepwater port is fully operational it will provide important support for the oil and gas sector and opportunities for local content. It was pointed out that due to its location close to Suriname, the port will also help service exploration and development of Suriname’s oil and gas sector.
“GCIE expects that the port will significantly boost local content engagement in the oil and gas sector and add enhanced logistics capacity for import and export, including expandable capacity to accommodate the possibility of increased product flow to and from the northern states of Brazil.”
“Due to its location close to Suriname, the port’s oil and gas support functions will also help to serve the rapidly growing offshore exploration and development activities in that country’s oil and gas sector,” CGX further said.
Additionally, the port will provide critical assistance to the rice, sugar and agro-processing sector. This is particularly important since Guyana is a frontrunner in the charge to reduce the Caribbean Community’s (Caricom) food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.
“The port is expected to add significant capacity to the agricultural sector, supporting rice, sugar, agro-processing and agricultural materials… the BDWP facility intends to serve as an offshore supply base for the oil and gas industry and as a multi-purpose terminal to service agricultural import/export, containerised and specialised cargo including aggregates for construction purposes. The BDWP aims to enable provisioning of operators and vendors in territorial waters of both Guyana and Suriname,” CGX added.
GCIE had previously reported last year that there were some minor setbacks with the project due to revisions that were needed to the design of its wharf and trestle in the Berbice River.
GAICO Construction and General Services Inc were selected as the lowest bidder to construct the access trestle and wharf as well as to perform the required dredging operations.
In November 2022, CGX had said that the cargo terminal aspect of the port is expected to commence in mid-2023 and operation of the oil and gas support base in late 2023, subject to construction schedules and supply chains.
The deepwater harbour project is being built on 30 acres of land adjacent to and north of Crab Island on the eastern bank of the Berbice River. It was reported that 10 acres of the plot has been set aside as a living laboratory for the study of mangrove habitats in co-existence with commercial port operations.
Previously, the Guyana Government had given CGX up to September 2022 month-end to submit a plan on how it intends to move forward with the port facility. Subsequently in October of that year, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat told this newspaper that he was slated to meet with CGX representatives to intensify discussions on fast-tracking works on the project. The CGX deepwater harbour project has been in the works since 2010.
GCIE has been engaged in civil works related to the construction of the US$130 million Berbice Deep Water Port, which intends to serve as an offshore supply base for the oil and gas industry, and as a multi-purpose terminal cargo handling base to service agricultural import/export, containerised and specialised cargo.
