£3B credit financing: CJIA terminal 2, major infrastructure projects discussed as President Ali engaged UKEF officials

The ongoing construction of a second terminal at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) – Guyana’s main port of entry – was among the projects that President Dr Irfaan Ali discussed with the top brass of the United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) during a recent meeting in London.

The modern 150,000-square-foot CJIA Terminal Two project, the design of which includes a range of premium amenities, is being financed in part by the UKEF, which has offered Guyana a credit loan ceiling up to a whopping £3 billion.
On Wednesday, President Ali and his delegation met with the Chief Executive Officer of the UKEF, Tim Read, on key infrastructure projects as part of Guyana’s transformational agenda.
In a brief statement on his Facebook page, President Ali said, “Key issues discussed included current pipeline projects such as the CJIA terminal expansion and the expansion of UKEF’s portfolio in Guyana.”
According to the Head of State, teams from the Government of Guyana and UKEF will be having follow-up meetings in the next three weeks to further advance these discussions.
The UKEF is the UK’s official export credit agency, which aids countries and private companies across the world to access the financial support they need in order to procure from the UK, thus unlocking the potential of the UK supply chain by making their bids more competitive.
Last October, it was announced that the UKEF has raised its financing capacity from £2.1 billion to £3 billion for both the Guyana Government and the local private sector to tap into.
At the time of the announcement, President Ali had set out his priorities for possible UKEF collaboration over the next five years, including 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.

Potential projects
The US$190 million Phase One of the Linden to Lethem project is currently ongoing and will see 121 kilometres of asphaltic 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 UK Caribbean Infrastructure 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 in July 2025, 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.

During a recent interview with the Guyana Times, outgoing British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller, noted that discussions with the Guyana Government on its plans to utilise the funding are still in the commercial stages.
“The nice thing about UK export finance is it can be used in almost any sector. The deal is that we want 20 per cent of the export to come from the UK, and we provide good terms because of the export from the UK. So, it’s an exciting proposition. We have a very large ceiling, and we can apply that to anything from the port to roads, hospitals, and schools; it could be anything. So, it’s up to the Government to choose where they wish to use it,” she told this newspaper on Wednesday.

Private sector interest
Only in 2024, the 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 the British diplomat, who has wrapped up a four-year tenure in Guyana, Guyanese businesses have shown keen interest in capitalising on this financing mechanism.
“There have been a number of training sessions and meetings with the Georgetown Chamber [of Commerce and Industry] and with the Private Sector Commission. We’ve had a number of meetings. But we have not had any specific calls yet for using it, but certainly, there was interest. There were one or two that I thought were going to progress, so I think we just have to watch and see,” the outgoing High Commissioner stated.