GtE Project to make Guyana more attractive for investments – former British envoy

Former British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller, is of the view that Guyana will become a much more attractive destination for investments when the highly anticipated Gas-to-Energy (GtE) Project comes on stream.
Located at Wales on the West Bank of Demerara, the GtE Project comprises a 300 megawatt (MW) combined cycle power plant and a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility, utilising natural gas that will be piped onshore from oil operation activities in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.
The project is expected to be operationalised by the end of this year, delivering stable and reliable clean energy and slashing the current high cost of electricity by half – something which Miller says will bolster the business climate in Guyana.
“All businesses want to make a profit. And if it’s cheaper to provide the services, if it’s cheaper to do manufacturing, it will make Guyana more attractive. I think if the price of electricity halves, it’s going to be important for all businesses, whether they’re office-based or manufacturing; it will reduce costs. So, it will make Guyana more attractive,” the former British diplomat told the Guyana Times during a recent interview before ending her four-year tenure in Georgetown.
The US$759 million GtE project at Wales is currently under accelerated construction, with the contractor, US-based Lindsayca, already moving into round-the-clock operations in order to deliver power this year.
Reshaping the economy
Only last Friday evening, Prime Minister (PM) Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, whose office has responsibilities for the country’s energy sector, said the massive investments into the GtE Project, along with other renewable power initiatives, are reshaping Guyana’s economy.
Delivering his debate presentation on Budget 2026 in the National Assembly on Friday evening, Phillips noted that the Government’s energy investments form the backbone of economic transformation.
“The Gas-to-Energy project remains the most consequential investment undertaken by this Government and is aimed at transforming Guyana’s economic foundation,” he posited.
According to the PM, construction at the Wales site has moved firmly from planning into large-scale execution, with foundations, turbines and transformers already in place. He added that the project is on track to deliver results within the Government’s stated timeline.
“We will have electricity from that project in the last quarter of 2026, reliable and low-cost electricity,” PM Phillips declared.
The PM explained that cheaper, more stable power would enable heavy manufacturing, anchor the Wales Development Zone and attract both local and foreign investors, with wide-ranging benefits for the economy.
“That will have a tremendous industrial and economic impact here in Guyana,” the senior Government official added.
This power plant and NGL facility under construction are just Phase One of the GtE Project. The second phase will see another 300 MW power plant and NGL facility constructed at the same Wales site, utilising the excess rich gas from offshore.
Already, some 250 kilometres of 12-inch pipelines have been laid to bring the rich gas onshore. The first phase, however, will only utilise 40 per cent of the pipeline’s capacity, bringing 50 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of dry gas onshore.
But with the pipelines having the capacity to push as much as 120 mmscfd of gas, the Government had moved ahead with Phase Two to utilise the remaining 60 per cent capacity of the pipeline, which will see an additional 75 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of rich gas brought onshore for the second power plant and NGL facility right at the Wales location.

The Government had issued a request for proposals (RFP) to qualified firms to design, finance, and operate Phase Two of the project under a 20- to 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
Initially, seven international companies had submitted bids for GtE Phase Two, but there has been an extension for submission, which the PM said is yielding positive results.
“There has been an extension of the period for submission of bids… However, the response is good so far,” Phillips told this newspaper last month.
<<<<Value-added development>>>
Meanwhile, beyond power generation, the Guyana Government is also laying the foundation for a broader energy economy through gas bottling and logistics, as well as value-added industrial development, as part of a long-term strategy to tackle the rising cost of living in Guyana.
During a recent appearance on the Starting Point podcast, PM Phillips disclosed that the proposed gas bottling and fertiliser plants at the Wales Industrial Zone will play a critical role in cost reduction for consumers.
The Government plans to use the excess natural gas from the pipeline to also set up these two major industrial projects at the Wales location. Currently, invitations are out for requests for proposals (RFPs) for the Guyana Gas Bottling and Logistics Company (GGBLC) and the Guyana Ammonia and Urea Plant (GAUP) – both of which are still open, February 19 and March 5, respectively.
PM Phillips had noted that these investments will be central to bringing down costs in Guyana, especially food prices.
“Once we can reach the stage of manufacturing our own fertiliser, that will have a positive impact on agriculture, on our farmers. That has a trigger effect because if you cushion the effect in terms of the cost of production in the farming sector, it will also have an effect on the food that goes on our table and the price that we pay for food,” he had noted.
Currently, the Guyana Government is subsidising the cost of fertiliser to the tune of some $2 billion as part of efforts to support the local agriculture sector. The PM had pointed out that once Guyana starts producing its own fertiliser, it will not only reduce the cost but also bring in income through export to the Caribbean region.
Similarly, PM Phillips had further stated that Guyana could also be exporting excess bottled gas after meeting local demands.
These two initiatives are set to come onstream when Phase Two of the Gas-to-Energy project is operationalised by 2030.