Essequibo Coast road to be transformed into 4-lane road

…more hotels, fast ferry to come – Pres Ali tells residents

Much like the rest of Guyana, the Essequibo Coast is slated for major transformation, with its main highway to be expanded into a four-lane road.
This was announced by President Dr Irfaan Ali on Wednesday, during the opening of the Deed and Commercial Registries Authority Building at Suddie in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

According to the Head of State, when the current two-lane highway was constructed along the Essequibo Coast, it was never envisioned that there would be such a fast and rapid growth in the traffic in the region, hence the need for an expansion.
“In these [last] five years, we focused heavily on community roads and community infrastructure [and now] one of the plans and programmes that we have, that will commence before the end of this year, is the design and rebuilding of this highway into a four-lane highway here in Essequibo,” President Ali revealed.
He was at the time speaking about his government’s massive investment to the tune of some $100 billion that was injected into the development of Region Two, in every sector, over the last four years.
These investments are expected to increase in the future, as government work to transform the infrastructural landscape of the Cinderella County.
One such plan is to increase the number of hotel rooms on the Essequibo Coast.
Though many hoteliers on the Essequibo Coast have increased their capacity to accommodate more guests over the past four years, the Head of State pointed out that the region still faces a shortage of rooms on long weekends.
According to the President, the Ministry of Tourism was tasked with developing a special marketing plan to encourage more persons to invest in the region.
“There [are] a number of resorts that are being built, new hotels, more rooms, and already on weekends, they’re out of rooms in this region, many weekends. They would say especially those long weekends, they’re out of rooms,” he noted.
Many families travel to Essequibo on long weekends to enjoy recreational activities at destinations such as Mainstay Resort and Lake Capoey, among others. To accommodate this influx of persons travelling to the Essequibo Coast, government is looking to purchase a fast-going ferry to ply the Parika – Supenaam route.
“We’re actively working to procure an additional fast ferry that will do the Parika to Essequibo route,” the President revealed.

Massive investments
Another massive investment being made by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration in Region Two is the $880 million multi-purpose wharf that is being constructed at Charity, to replace the current dilapidated port facility in Region Two.
The Charity Wharf has been an essential hub for the movement of goods and commerce in the Essequibo region. The new Charity waterfront development project includes a new market, a fire station, a police boat house, and enhanced modern docking facilities to accommodate larger vessels.
According to President Ali, this new development will facilitate an expansion of trade not only across Guyana but the Caribbean region as well.
“[This] beautiful waterfront development at Charity [will] see direct trade to the Caribbean, direct movement of products, logistics, tourism, a cold freeze value chain. We’ll invest in a cold freeze value chain storage for crops, for agro-processing, for packaging, and of course, specialized storage facility will be part of that development to support our farmers in Essequibo and in the Pomeroon,” the Guyanese Leader noted.
In order to further support the region’s farmers, the Head of State also disclosed that the Agriculture Ministry is currently working with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to develop complimentary high-value crops to supplement incomes.
“So, with your rice farming, there will be complimentary high-value crops that bring additional income; disposable income, and what I call buffet income to your pockets and your family’s pocket,” he added.
Moreover, President outlined plans to establish a ‘coconut value chain’ as part of the region’s diversification plan.

He noted, “So, coconut is becoming one of those mega products… [and] the mega product – coconut, has many value creation in it. So, we’re going to develop in Essequibo a coconut value chain to support. Already we have, I think, more than 4,000 acres of new coconut plantation here in Essequibo, especially in the Pomeroon area.”
Additionally, there will be continued investments in drainage and irrigation, as well as the expansion of technical education on farming across the region. Government is also planning to develop an enhanced modern paddy drying facility and storage facility, which, President Ali pointed out, is much needed now with the increase in yield expected.
To further enhance output of rice farmers, government is also working to push technologically-supportive agro-chemical application.
The Drone Department is now looking at commercial drones that can apply the fertilizers and chemicals across the industry in Essequibo, as well as across the country. This method, according to the Head of State, will support farmers in further reducing their cost of production and increasing their profitability.
Meanwhile, in addition to these public sector investments, the PPP/C Administration is also working to drive private sector investments across Region Two.
“The Minister of Finance has currently completed a special investment and tax regime for a number of areas across the country …and Essequibo is one such area that will benefit from the special investment and tax regime to support investment development and job creation here,” President Ali declared.