Int’l Building Expo 2023 launched; to push stronger partnerships, results-driven

…30 companies already on board

As the International Building Expo 2023 officially launched on Friday, Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal disclosed that 30 companies within the construction sector have already indicated their interest in participating and boosting their products and services.

Themed, “Building For All: One Guyana, Many Opportunities,” this year’s Building Expo is being held from August 24-27 at the National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara.
This event encourages companies within the building sector to display their services, thereby providing networking opportunities and fostering collaboration among local and foreign investors.
“This national event will showcase innovation [and] new products critical to ensuring that the progress and the development trajectory continues and continues rapidly,” Croal said. “Already, 30 companies over [a period] of eight hours indicated their interest [in participating] even before launching [on Friday]. That can tell you the interest that is there.”
“We intend to ensure that the interactions are results-driven and that opportunities for sales are fully explored and that home builders are also fully benefiting from the interventions,” Croal added.

Meanwhile, Minister within the Housing Ministry Susan Rodrigues noted that this event is an opportunity to strengthen partnerships with the private sector.
“This year, we look forward to having and building stronger partnerships with our members of the private sector,” Rodrigues said.
“Of course, we welcome our big corporate sponsors but we [also] welcome those medium and small-scale businesses. That is essentially what the expo is for: to give our members of the private sector, to give new and young entrepreneurs an opportunity to put on exhibition, their products, services and new technology in the building sector,” Rodrigues explained.
The Minister added that the expo will also feature its hallmark event—the “Dream Realised” housing allocation exercise.
Since 2020, the Housing Ministry, alongside the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), has allocated some 23,500 house lots across the country with an overall goal of 50,000 by 2025.

Croal noted that approximately 15,000 persons have been shown or given access to their house lots, therefore, there are potentially 15,000 persons planning to attend the expo and look for contractors and other necessary services.
Minister Rodrigues, however, remarked that like last year, this expo will expand beyond the Housing Ministry and its housing projects and will also provide a platform to share a number of infrastructural works being done by the Government at large.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips encouraged persons to attend the expo as the country is experiencing a building revolution.
“Guyana is changing and changing for the better. The building revolution is a part of that transformative process. Guyana’s transformation will be showcased during this year’s International Building Expo. I therefore wish to encourage exhibitors to put their best foot forward as they showcase what is on offer to support our country’s building revolution,” Phillips said.
Guyana held its first building expo in August 2010. It was an initiative by President Dr Irfaan Ali, while he was Housing Minister, aimed at creating connections between local businesses and other regional and international companies.
Last year’s expo–the first after some seven years–featured the participation of 356 local, regional, and international companies.