GMSA calls for review of State-owned bottled water plant

…says venture could discourage investment by local producers

The Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) is calling on the Government to review plans for a state-owned bottled water facility, arguing that the country’s goal of achieving 100 per cent locally produced bottled water can be realised through partnerships with existing local manufacturers rather than direct State participation in the market. The Association’s call comes after the National Assembly approved $496.3 million for a Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI)-operated water bottling facility. On Tuesday the GMSA said it supports the Government’s objective of producing all bottled water locally and noted that earlier this year it met with Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar and GWI officials, along with local bottled water manufacturers, to discuss opportunities and challenges within the industry. According to the Association, the initiative presents an opportunity to strengthen local manufacturing, create jobs and improve Guyana’s economic resilience. However, it maintained that the proposed State venture should be designed to support, rather than compete with, businesses that have already invested in the sector. The GMSA said several of its members have invested significant capital, developed distribution networks and created employment through bottled water production over many years.
The Association also referenced President Irfaan Ali’s announcement in February, in which he spoke of achieving 100 per cent locally produced bottled water through close collaboration between the Government and the private sector, including shared production infrastructure such as bottle manufacturing to reduce costs across the industry.

State competing with local producers
The GMSA said it supports that approach and urged GWI and the Public Utilities and Aviation Ministry to structure the project as a partnership that expands industry capacity and lowers production costs, rather than establishing what it described as a taxpayer-funded competitor to existing manufacturers. It expressed concern that direct State participation in an already established market could discourage future private investment, create uncertainty for businesses that have committed substantial resources to the sector and undermine the Government’s wider private sector-led development agenda. The Association also stressed that GWI’s primary responsibility remains the provision of safe and reliable potable water to households across Guyana, adding that any commercial diversification should complement, rather than detract from, that mandate. The GMSA has called on the Government to undertake further consultations with local bottled water manufacturers and other stakeholders before proceeding with the project, adding that it remains willing to work with GWI and the Ministry on behalf of its members.
However, even as the Association called for a review of the project, the Public Utilities and Aviation Ministry on Tuesday announced that GWI is moving ahead with another aspect of its bottled water initiative. In a post on its social media page, the Ministry announced the launch of the GOG-GWI Water Initiative Bottle Refilling Station at the Port Mourant Water Treatment Plant on Friday, August 7, at 11:00h.
The Ministry said members of the public will receive free five-gallon water refills throughout the launch day, after which refills will cost $100 per five-gallon container. The $496.3 million investment is intended to establish a GWI-operated water bottling plant aimed at reducing Guyana’s dependence on imported bottled water while strengthening national self-sufficiency and water security. According to Government, despite Guyana’s abundant freshwater resources and GWI’s existing treatment and distribution network, the country continues to rely heavily on imported bottled water.