A $100M recreational park was on Saturday officially opened by President Dr Irfaan Ali in Corriverton, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne)
The Corriverton Recreational Park is situated opposite the Corriverton Market and adjacent to the Corentyne River.
The project, which was being spearheaded by First Lady Arya Ali until its completion, is equipped with a parking lot, amenities for kids to play, a walkway, benches, and washroom facilities among others.
President Ali pointed out that the new facility is part of a larger picture that intends to boost tourism in the region.
The First Lady in launching the project last year said it was a part of the National Beautification Project.
President Ali on Saturday in making mention of the Corentyne River Bridge, which is soon to be constructed to bridge Guyana and Suriname, said the bridge will open up more economic and tourism opportunities for Region Six.
An arial view of a section of the recreational park
According to President Ali, more important is the infrastructural development that will come on stream, which includes expanding the Corentyne Highway to make it a four-lane one, the construction of a new stadium, and the building of an industrial hub. The infrastructural development would also see new malls and hotels coming onstream in the region.
“All of those things will come together to create a diversified economy in which agricultural, tourism, industrial development, and the energy sector will improve.”
He said the energy sector will have a very strong base in Region Six as well as transport and logistics.
“Because this is the region identified to be linked to Brazil through the establishment of a deep-water port to support both Guyana and Brazil in the expansion of our energy sector. All of these things will create new demands for services and opportunities for more visitors. All of this necessitates building infrastructure to support it.”
He said plans are afoot to ensure that the new park will host specific national events.
“These events will stimulate the growth of traffic coming into Region Six.”
President Ali pointed out that there is a continuous flow of both marine and vehicular traffic at the Berbice River. Hence a new Berbice River Bridge will be constructed to facilitate such. The current Berbice River Bridge is a floating bridge and has to be closed to vehicular traffic to facilitate the movement of marine traffic.
Touching on the national events, the Head of State outlined that in November there will be one week of Diwali activities at the new park. The celebrations, he explained, will be both cultural and religious in nature.
Ali pointed out that the lighting that will be used will make the park a tourist attraction during the week of activities which is hoped to pull persons from neighbouring Suriname and also various parts of Guyana.
“We want to do the same thing for Eid where we will have a week of activities and festivity and also for Christmas so that this can be a modern investment that will stimulate the businesses around; the hotels and the restaurants. So this facility is not just a recreational facility. This facility is one that will open up opportunities for the expansion of business opportunities.”
For this to be achieved, the President said standards must be adopted and kept.
“We cannot misuse this facility.”
The park is expected to be a safe space that is open to everyone and to promote family health.
“It should be an environment in which women and the elderly can have first-class relaxation in comfort. We have been observing some behaviours that are not in keeping with this facility,” the Head of State said while pointing out that the guidelines for uses of the facility will be enforced.
“We have to protect this. This is your asset. This is your park; you have to protect it and use it in the manner for which it was designed.”
The Head of State took the opportunity to congratulate the Office of the First Lady and the First Lady herself for spearheading the development of the park. (G4)
