£3 billion UK Export Finance: Roads, bridges & port facilities among projects in cards for funding

With the British Government recently increasing the credit loan ceiling to a whopping £3 billion for both the Guyana Government and the local private sector to tap into, there are several major infrastructure projects that are actively being considered for possible funding.

On Wednesday evening, it was announced that the United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) – the UK’s official export credit agency – has raised its financing capacity for Guyana from £2.1 billion to £3 billion.
UKEF aids overseas buyers across the world in accessing the financial support they need to procure from the UK, unlocking the potential of the UK supply chain by making their bids more competitive.

The announcement of this UKEF support was made on Wednesday during a meeting between President Dr Irfaan Ali, along with several Government officials, and a delegation from UKEF and His Majesty’s Deputy Trade Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean.

During that engagement, the Head of State set out his priorities for possible UKEF collaboration over the next five years.
Speaking with the Guyana Times, British High Commissioner Jane Miller, who was also at the meeting, indicated the President reiterated a number of the projects that are on the Government’s agenda.
According to the British envoy, Dr Ali was “…talking about new roads and new bridges, a new port.  He’s also very excited about increases in agriculture and agro-processing.  So, he went through a lot of those opportunities; he didn’t give us anything new that you don’t know about. But it was really exciting to hear his enthusiasm for the change [that] these resources could make possible.”
President Ali has already indicated that the UKEF funding could be used to finance the second phase of the Linden to Lethem Road Expansion Project, from Mabura Hill to Lethem, as well as the deep-water port facility in Berbice and the modernisation of the country’s electricity transmission system.
However, he told online news agency Demerara Waves on Wednesday evening that no decision was taken, adding that discussions are ongoing to identify possible projects to be funded by the UKEF mechanism.
The US$190 million Phase One of the Linden to Lethem project will see 121 kilometres of asphalt road being built from Linden to Mabura Hill in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice). This project is being funded through the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) via a US$112 million loan, a grant of £50 million (US$66 million) from the United Kingdom’s Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF), and an input of US$12 million from the Guyana Government.
Phase Two of this project will see the all-weather road being extended to Lethem in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
Currently, this road network is being utilised by an estimated 50,000 travellers who transport goods from the coast to the inland regions of Guyana and even into neighbouring Brazil. In fact, Guyana and Brazil are presently exploring financing options for that second half of the road that will also serve as a critical transport link for the two countries.
Meanwhile, the deep-water port facility is a private-public partnership that will be built at the mouth of the Berbice River. This initiative will see United States-based Bechtel partnering with a consortium of local companies, including Muneshwers Ltd. and John Fernandes Ltd.
During a meeting at State House in Georgetown back in July, President Ali urged Bechtel executives to expedite the project, especially to meet demands by Guyana’s growing oil and gas sector.
“This project is of national, regional, and hemispheric importance… We must move forward as quickly as possible to ensure construction begins and is completed in the shortest possible time,” the Head of State had said in a Facebook post.
With regard to bridges, the Guyana Government is undertaking to build a new fixed high-span four-lane bridge across the Berbice River to replace the current floating structure there. Additionally, there are plans to start work on a bridge at the Kurupukari crossing, which is along the trail to Lethem.
Nevertheless, only last year the UK Export Finance (UKEF) almost tripled its risk appetite for Guyana, raising it from £750 million to a whopping £2.1 billion, allowing for both the Government and the local private sector to access funding.
According to High Commissioner Miller, this further increase to £3 billion is exciting for both the Guyanese Government and the private sector.
“As Guyana’s growing, you need credit. You need resources to be able to grow your businesses, to be able to build new infrastructure.  And so, it’s an exciting time for Guyana. And that increase is unprecedented. When I first arrived here, it was £750 million; now it’s £3 billion, so a huge increase,” the British envoy noted.
She stated that there has been a lot of interest from the local private sector to tap into this financing facility. However, none of these have materialised to date.
“We haven’t gone to a loan agreement yet, but there’s been a number of businesses that have approached us, and the Government has been approaching us on a number of opportunities,” the British High Commissioner noted.