2022 – reinvigorating Guyana’s investment landscape, sparking transformation – GO-Invest

The Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), in collaboration with various Ministries and supporting agencies, has updated and reinforced the Sector Investment Prospectus to focus on critical investment areas such as agriculture, energy, mining, forestry, information, and communication technology, tourism, manufacturing, and services.
The Prospectus highlights and promotes Guyana’s eclectic portfolio of the most auspicious and lucrative investment opportunities to local and foreign investors.
Enclosed in the prospectus is the attractive fiscal incentive regime that investors can benefit from throughout the various sectors as well as data on the key sectors, sector overviews, the economy, why they should invest and comparative advantages.
The year 2022 is the next phase in President Dr Irfaan Ali’s masterplan for Guyana’s economic transformation into a regional powerhouse. This plan is driven through Budget 2022, which lays the foundation of the President’s vision for Guyana.
According to a release from Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Peter Ramsaroop, Budget 2022 comprising a historic $553 billion encompasses massive infrastructural developments and building of capacity for our sustainable industries: energy, agriculture and tourism. Food security and expansion of agriculture is a central pillar, which the Government intends to address, to create a high-yielding agriculture sector to reduce the food import bill of Caricom by 25 per cent by 2025.
Guyana’s economic growth is projected to skyrocket in 2022 as the World Bank has since amended the country’s initial growth projection from 26 per cent in June of 2021 to a jaw-dropping 49.7 per cent despite the current constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic. (World Bank’s “Global Economic Prospects” report, January of 2022)
“Over the course of the last two years, the Government has laid the foundation for Guyana’s development. Infrastructure projects are already taking place to vigorously impact trade with regional partners and expand the “El Dorado corridor” with Suriname and Northern Brazil. The commencement of the Corentyne River Bridge will link Suriname and Guyana and will start in 2022. This linkage will radically enhance trade and investments in Guyana. Guyana and Northern Brazil are benefiting from the commencement of upgrades to the long-planned road in addition to the deep-water harbour in Berbice, which will open the door to bilateral trade,” Dr Ramsaroop added.
The development of two new shore bases on the west side of the Demerara River currently in construction by two local companies will further strengthen our local content capacity and create significant opportunities for Guyanese.
President Ali emphasised that “Budget 2022 is making way for remarkable development in the already- booming tourism industry, in areas such as local and international branding, small business support and collaboration with major international chains through investments”.
In the Head of State’s pre-budget address, he said, “Investments are being made in Budget 2022 to achieve the reduction in our energy costs and electricity by 50 per cent by the time we get to 2025”. The focus is an integrated energy solution consisting of hydro, solar, and wind energy. A company has been selected to undertake the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, which will further enhance Guyana’s energy mix bringing 165 megawatts (MW) to the grid. The gas-to-shore pipeline is commencing in 2022 and will result in a net 250 MW delivered into the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) grid located on the East Bank of the Demerara River as stated by the Natural Resources Ministry.
Investments are already commencing in health care, education and other social services and will improve the living conditions of Guyanese. New hospitals are being built across Guyana’s regions to provide state-of-the-art services to our people.
Guyana is open for investment, but the outlook is far beyond oil and gas. Our Low-Carbon Development Strategy, natural beauty, and the value of our forests and human resources existed long before the discovery of oil. Tremendous opportunities are already being sought in agriculture, tourism, the new Silica City, infrastructure, manufacturing, industrial development, and agro-processing. Join the wave and do not miss the action, which is taking place in Guyana.