“Don’t be afraid, Guyana’s economy has a lot of potential” – top businessman

…urges local companies to form consortiums to benefit from opportunities

Prominent Guyanese businessman Komal Singh is urging local companies to be proactive and take advantage of the “tremendous amount of opportunities” that are now available in the Guyanese economy.
Singh, also the Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), made this remark at the commissioning of his company GAICO Construction & General Services Inc’s US$30 million marine facility at Nimes, West Bank Demerara on Saturday. The newly built facility comprises a wharf, dry dock, and laydown and storage yard. The port facility will serve as a critical infrastructure for offloading equipment and materials being used to advance the development of Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).
Key aspects of the development in the region and the country as a whole are the ongoing construction of the new high-span four-lane bridge across the Demerara River and Government’s highly-touted Gas-to-Energy Project, which will feature a 300-megawatt power plant and an integrated Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant at Wales, WBD.

“We all need to make sure that we capitalize on what is in front of us here today. Oil and gas have brought tremendous amount of opportunities to Guyana, and we from the business sector need to be proactive. We need to look ahead of what is happening, and don’t just build for today. We need to build for tomorrow,” Singh posited.
Through strategic efforts of the current Dr Irfaan Ali-led administration, the businessman pointed out, investment in the local economy has now become easy, and almost risk-free. In fact, the PSC Chairman disclosed that in the last three years, in excess of US$25 million has been invested by the Private Sector into the Guyanese economy.
“I’m saying the economy is robust. The economy has a lot of potential, and none of us should be scared of it… You can be very confident, about 60 or 70 per cent, that your investment is going to be successful. You know why this is so? It is because, when we look at the Government’s strategic vision to develop this country, it is not done in a very haphazard manner; it’s done in a very organized strategic manner… All of these projects, when you look at them, they have sustainability. If oil and gas go tomorrow morning out of Guyana, those developments will sustain the other sectors in a very, very big way,” the businessman posited.
Singh noted that the vast opportunities that have been created by both the Government and the local oil and gas industry have also brought on a tremendous amount of pressure for the Private Sector.

Consortiums and partnerships
On this note, the PSC Chairman explained that in taking advantage of these opportunities, local businesses cannot do it alone. He urged companies to explore creating partnerships and consortiums in order to develop and position themselves, in the shortest possible time, to benefit from these economic opportunities. Key to this, he emphasised, is finding the right partners.
Singh used his own company as an example to demonstrate how beneficial consortiums are. Back in 2017, in order to get a contract for waste management services from United States oil major ExxonMobil, which along with its co-venturers is producing oil offshore Guyana in the Stabroek Block, he partnered with a firm from the United Kingdom. However, they were unsuccessful in getting the contract.
Then in 2019, when the contract was retendered, he went in search of a ‘more competent partner’, having learnt from what they lacked the previous time. GAICO found a company in Finland with the required technical expertise and the financial support. Despite having these resources, however, Singh explained, they realized that their chances of winning the contract was about 50 per cent. But if they bring in a third partner, then their chances of winning the tender would almost double to 99.9 per cent; and it did.
Together, GAICO, Guyana Shore Base Inc. (GYSBI) and Finland-based Lamor established Sustainable Environmental Solutions (SES) – a local company that offers hazardous and non-hazardous waste management and tank cleaning services.
“We took the risk of sharing the pie, but standing the chance of winning the tender. And thankful, we went together as a…huge consortium and we were very successful. Today, we operate a huge facility in GYSBI compound… and that facility treats all the hazardous waste that comes off from the rigs, and we’re doing it in a very high-tech manner. The facility we have there right now, we recovered 100 per cent base oil. We don’t burn any waste oil; and I think, for the country, for the environment, it is an awesome and a real good facility. But we could not have done it without bringing ourselves together in a consortium and partnership,” he explained.
“The pie is so big we should not be greedy at any one time to say we can do it alone. Because when we form a consortium, there’s a huge opportunity arising out of those consortiums… So, we must not, and we should not, don’t look for partnership. The market is growing aggressively right now, and we should all look to see where we can develop,” the businessman posited. (G8)