The oil and gas sector’s successes have led to many companies from across the world establishing offices in Guyana.
However, President Dr. Irfaan Ali is also urging local companies to look for ways to expand their current ventures and invest in new projects at home and in the Caribbean, and even further afield.
He made this call during his address at the opening of the Local Content Summit at the Pegasus Suites, Corporate Centre on Tuesday. The Summit is being hosted under the theme “Creating Value. Driving Economic Expansion.”
The President revealed after some research, he found that many countries in the region are looking for investment in the area of water.
“…they’re ready to give you, just like you have a power purchase agreement, a water purchase agreement for investment in water. And I said to myself, my God, this scale is a US$30M project, a US$50M project; why can’t we get a group of local business personalities to come together in a consortium… and go after these opportunities?” he questioned, alluding to the experience and knowledge that Guyanese garnered from the water treatment facilities set up across the country.
Dr. Ali noted that businesses selling water can form partnerships and own 40%-50% of similar companies in other countries. This, he said, will add value to local content.
“Speaking about the hundreds of millions of value we’re creating is good (in U.S. dollars) but how are we converting that hundreds of millions of value to billions of dollars in value? How are we doing that? How are we deploying this additional revenue that is coming to greater value?” he emphasised.
Further, the Head of State pointed to opportunities for investment around the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri.
Recalling a conversation with members of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) at the South Dakota Circuit located a stone’s throw from the airport, Dr. Ali said there is room for the opening of a casino and other eco-tourism activities in that vicinity.
“I see revenue like a casino because when you look around that track, you’re one and a half minutes away from the airport. You have a racing track, you have world-class eco-facility, fresh forests, you have creeks, you have white sand…
“Imagine an eco-tourism facility one and a half minutes away from the airport where you can also enjoy racing and drive maybe one or two Formula One cars. Immediately, you’re talking about a different market,” he told those gathered at the event.
“The opportunities are there…So as we come together today to look at opportunities, let us not limit ourselves to what happens here,” he added.
The President also pointed to connections with Brazil and Suriname which present their own prospects for logistics and other investments.
