Several locations, investment options being considered for deep-water port – Shipping Association Head

– says talks held between association, major terminal operators & Govt

On the heels of President Dr Irfaan Ali’s recent revelation that a proposal is being worked on for a new deep-water port, the head of the Shipping Association of Guyana, Phillip Fernandes has confirmed that several locations and investment options are indeed being considered.
In an invited comment to the Guyana Times, Fernandes acknowledged the need for such a facility, as well as the fact that his association and some of the major terminal operators have had engagements with the Government.
“The current infrastructure in Port Georgetown is inadequate to handle any significant increase in cargo volumes. With Guyana growing at its current rate, the projected cargo in the coming years would surely over-tax our cargo terminals and produce congestion and inefficiencies,” he explained.
“Over the past couple of years, the Shipping Association of Guyana and some of the major terminal operators have had several engagements with the Government to consider various options for a deep-water port and new national cargo-handling terminal,” Fernandes also said.
The President’s recent comments on a proposal for a deep-water port were made during a recent sit-down with journalists and Fernandes welcomed that emphasis is being placed on constructing this important infrastructure. He also noted the need for the process to be carefully managed, pointing out the immense capital such a project will necessitate.
“I am pleased that the President has recently been placing great emphasis on the need for a modern cargo-handling facility. This is very much needed for Guyana to keep pace with the country’s growing demands. This is a carefully managed process as it needs to be done right the first time. Such an undertaking is too costly and too important to get wrong.”
“Several options are being considered in terms of location and investment structure. The viability of a deep-water harbour in Guyana becomes even greater when cargo from Northern Brazil is taken into consideration.

Several studies have been done on this possibility at it remains under the microscope when considering our options,” Fernandes added.
In light of increasing transshipment challenges that local businesses face in getting goods into the country, the Guyana Government has been giving serious consideration to possibly even co-investing in a deep-water port here given the demand for such a facility in this rapidly growing economy.
This was the view of Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo while addressing stakeholders at the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association’s (GMSA) Annual Awards Dinner earlier in the month. He was at the time speaking about the industrial dispute in Trinidad and Tobago at the time, which resulted in delays in shipments of goods to Guyana.
Since Guyana does not have a deep-water port, vessels would have to go to countries like Trinidad and Jamaica to offload and then transship the goods to Georgetown. Only last year, the local private sector had bemoaned the delays in transshipment after consignments were stuck in those territories ahead of the busy Christmas holidays.
However, the Vice President had explained that the reason Guyana has not been able to move forward with this port facility is due to the large-scale investment it would require. He ascertains that the project could run upwards of US$1 billion, hence, the need for the Government to co-finance such a venture.
According to the Vice President, this would be one of the major initiatives that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration has set its sights on, for its second term in office, as a long-term solution to the country’s shipment woes, which were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic when prices for goods skyrocketed due to the increased cost of freights around the world.
Initially, the Government had been considering constructing a deep-water port facility in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), but has had to go back to the drawing board given the high sedimentation there and the logistical and financial hurdles of dredging the mouth of the Berbice River.
The idea of modifying the port facility by building out a causeway to mitigate challenges with dredging the mouth of the Berbice River had also been floated. A causeway is a raised path, railway or road across wet ground, in this case, the ocean. This differs from a bridge since there is little or no opening underneath, instead, it consists of a crest with embankments on either side. (G-3)