Canadian-owned company CGX Energy Incorporated has revealed that in-river works are underway at the Deepwater Port in Berbice.
“As part of a phased approach in support of the Government of Guyana’s efforts to accommodate increased vessel activity in Guyana, in-river construction activity has begun at the Berbice Deepwater Port (BDWP) on a 50 x 12 metre access trestle from the quayside yard westward into the Berbice river, together with the necessary dredging of the river,” the company said in a statement Monday.
It noted that construction of the wharf, perpendicular to the trestle, will follow.
The cargo terminal aspects of the Deepwater Port are targeted to commence in mid-2023 and operation of oil and gas support base in late-2023, subject to construction schedules and supply chains.
In collaboration with the Government of Guyana, CGX said it has shifted the immediate focus of the Port to service expected demand for aggregates and building materials to support the Government’s infrastructure development in Berbice which must be imported into the region from elsewhere in the country and offshore.
Last year, it was reported that the company was engaged in civil works related to the construction of the US$130 million Berbice Deepwater Port.
The construction was being done on 30 acres of land on the eastern bank of the Berbice River, adjacent to Crab Island.
The CGX deep-water harbour project has been in the works since 2010, when the company secured a 50-year lease on the property.
But it wasn’t until late 2020 that its subsidiary Grand Canal Industrial Estates Inc (GCIE) began advertising for a number of senior positions related to the deep-water harbour project, including the positions of Project Manager, Civil Engineer and Health, Safety and Environmental Officer.
In June 2022, the Guyana Government had expressed concerns at the slow pace of the project. “We would have indicated to the company that we are not pleased at all with the pace at which the work is moving ahead,” Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat had told OilNow.
