Aimed at reducing the amount of fertiliser imported annually and potentially lowering its cost for farmers, GAICO Construction and General Services is set to open a new blending plant in 2024.
Back in 2022, GAICO began making preparations for the US$6 million fertiliser blending plant in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara). While the exact location is yet to be determined, it will likely be situated on the West Bank of Demerara, according to the company’s Business Development Director, Khishan Singh.
The pre-fab plant was purchased from Sackett-Waconia, a US-based company that designs, engineers and builds equipment for the fertiliser industry.
The components are expected to arrive in Guyana later this year and the plan is for the plant to be up and running by mid-2024 at the latest, Singh said.
“The whole idea is to try to revamp the farming industry, not just in the West Bank but in the country as a whole,” Singh said. “[We’re] hoping to lower that cost for Guyanese…the main thing is making things cheaper, more readily available and giving farmers a chance to grow.”
Fertilisers reportedly account for between 15 and 30 per cent of the total operating costs for farmers, and urea and ammonia compounds are claimed to be the most used fertiliser products in Guyana, with the country importing about 45,000 tonnes of these products annually.
Fertiliser blending offers a solution to this by ensuring farmers have the correct ratio of chemicals, such as nitrogen and phosphorus needed, and significantly reduces the time and money spent on imports.
Several other projects with GAICO at the helm are currently underway, including a US$30 million wharf and lay-down facility being built in Nismes, West Bank Demerara, that as of March, was in its pile-driving stage.
This facility is intended to support the imminent gas-to-shore project by being an offloading site for equipment and materials that will be brought during the course of the project, including the 12-inch pipe that will be used to bring gas from offshore Guyana to onshore.
GAICO aims to employ between 60 to 80 persons once this facility comes into operation.
