Steep flight costs among challenges to doing business between Guyana, Suriname

…“That is something that we need to fix” – SGCC Chair

Despite their close geographical positioning, the high cost of air travel between Guyana and Suriname has been a major bugbear to doing business, and this disadvantage needs to be remedied in order for the two countries to fully capitalise on the investment potential which exists between them.
This is according to Founding Chair of the Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce, Dr Vishnu Doerga, who outlined some of the challenges businesses face in expanding their operations across the borders.
Speaking with media operatives during the recent Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, Doerga explained that there is no better synergy existing in Caricom than the advantageous positioning of Guyana and Suriname. At the same time, he decried, “It still costs more if you were to take flight between Guyana and Suriname than going to Miami. So that is something that we need to fix. We’re neighbouring countries, it needs to be a lot easier for us to be able to visit, but also do business in both countries.”
Sharing the other challenges, he added, “We have very different legal systems. Guyana works on a common law system and Suriname works on a civil law system…It is a different mindset, a different way of thinking. Those are some of the challenges that new investors in both countries are facing. Our job is to make it smoother and more seamless for them to invest in each other’s country.”
Nevertheless, businesses have been charged to leverage the current advantages existing between the two countries. The ferry service operating between Moleson Creek and Nickerie is being used to transport goods, and both Governments are working on the new bridge across the Corentyne River – which is expected to boost connectivity.
It was also outlined that Suriname has decades of experience in oil exploration and mining, on which Guyanese entities can capitalise.
“Suriname has nearly 50 years of onshore oil exploration experience, so there is a lot that can be leveraged here in Guyana. We both belong to Caricom, but we also need to understand that most members are separated by very vast distances, with logistics being difficult. Between Guyana and Suriname, we have at least four daily flights; a ferry operation, which Government will improve with the new booking systems in place…and we’re also hearing about bridge that will come into existence,” Dr Doerga relayed.
While political cooperation between the two countries has been enhanced in recent times, it has been identified that, at the business level, private stakeholders are the drivers of this economic prosperity. As such, the combination of both is highly required.
The Chair said, “Political cooperation is step one. We’re very happy that it exists, and that actually happened just days after we had a new Government in 2020. But politics and business are two separate things. We’re happy that the politicians are cooperating, because they are the facilitators of political growth, but we are the drivers of that economic growth.”

New Bridge
The high-span Corentyne River Bridge will run approximately 3.1 kilometres, connecting Moleson Creek in Guyana to South Drain in Suriname, with a landing on Long Island in the Corentyne River, where a commercial hub and tourist destination will be established. A free zone on Long Island will see major infrastructural development, such as hotels, recreational parks, entertainment spots, tourist attractions, malls, and farmers’ markets.

Running from Moleson Creek to Long Island, the bridge will be a low-level structure that is approximately one kilometre long, with a 2200-metre (2.2km) road across Long Island and a high bridge spanning 2100 metres (2.1km) thereafter. The high end of the bridge, which will facilitate marine traffic, would cater for 40,000 to 45,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) capacity featuring a vertical (height) clearance of 43 metres and a horizonal (width) clearance of about 100 metres.
Upon completion, the bridge will not only link the two neighbouring countries, but open access to greater economic opportunities beyond them into French Guiana, and through the road network being developed into Brazil, and eventually further into South America. (G12)