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Senior Finance Minister hosts series of follow-up meetings with UAE on investment opportunities in various sectors

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Special focus being placed on tourism, agriculture and other sectors

Georgetown, Ministry of Finance, November 2, 2021: Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni K. Singh today hosted a virtual follow-up meeting between Mr. Maan Halabi, Managing Director of the Al Habtoor Group LLC located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond along with Guyanese private sector representatives. The meeting took place in the Boardroom of the Ministry of Finance and formed part of a series of meetings hosted by Dr. Singh recently as a follow-up to meetings first held in Dubai during a visit by President Irfaan Ali and a team of Government Ministers. The Guyanese Government officials had travelled to that country to attend the Dubai 2020 Exposition.

The Al Habtoor Group is one of the UAE's most respected and successful businesses that provides engineering and construction services but also operates in the hospitality, automotive, real estate, education and publishing sectors with vast investments in tourism. During President Ali’s visit to Dubai, the Al Habtoor Group had expressed interest in expanding its global footprint in the tourism properties market. As such, Government continues to court the group into taking up available investment opportunities in the hotel and resort industry here or partnering with local private sector investors to expand the industry. Today’s meeting allowed for the discussion of investment opportunities in these areas.

Dr. Singh noted that there is a wide range of opportunities for the Group to invest in Guyana, particularly in the tourism sector. These include greenfield investments in new flagship hotel projects, partnerships with existing investors currently developing hotel projects, and establishment of large-scale nature-based tourist resorts. He further indicated that the tourism sector is poised for rapid expansion in Guyana and is therefore attractive to international investors like the Al Habtoor Group which already has a global footprint of premium flagship hotels worldwide.

“The tourism industry in Guyana even before the COVID-19 period had started to gain international acclaim recognition especially for eco-tourism. With the advent of the oil and gas sector and that attention, we also began seeing increased interest with just visitors and businesses for the oil and gas sector so one of the good problems that we have so far in Guyana is that we have the need for good quality rooms, “Minister Walrond explained to Mr. Halabi.

She further noted that within a month of Government being in office, expressions of interest were sent out for internationally-branded hotels to be built in the country since one of Guyana’s premier hotels-the Marriott- is currently fully booked out until January 2022.

Noting that there has already been sod-turning for a number of new additional hotels, with two having taken place close to the Timehri International Airport, the Tourism Minister added that Government will soon send out expressions of interest for luxury-branded eco-tourism facilities within the eco-tourism industry as it hopes to have at least 2000 hotel rooms available for visitors to the country.

Meanwhile, former President of the Guyana Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) Mitra Ramkumar said he believes that the tourism industry in Guyana had already taken off even before the advent of oil and gas, adding that this country can learn much from the UAE on how its tourism industry can be a spin-off from the oil and gas sector especially since Guyana has pristine rainforests, a diversity of people, beauty and nature as well as vast lands for development and investment and as such, further investment can catapult its success.

It was only on Friday last that Minister Singh hosted another meeting between His Excellency Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and his team and Guyana’s Ministers of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat and Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, along with other private sector key stakeholders within the Agriculture and Gold and Diamond mining sectors in Guyana.

At that meeting on Friday last, the teams indicated to the DMCC that Guyana has the capacity for the large-scale production of many agricultural commodities such as soya bean, ginger, corn, rice, coconuts, eddoes, cassava and plantains which can be exported to Dubai. It was emphasized that with Dubai being a major global commodity trading hub, Guyana stands to gain access to wider markets for its products. Meanwhile, other investment opportunities were noted, such as those in the forestry and mining sectors.

Upon hearing about these investment opportunities, DMCC then expressed interest in learning more about Guyana’s agricultural and mining potential including commodities such as coffee, cocoa and rare earth minerals. The Guyanese representatives from both the public and private sectors thereby noted that now is the opportune time for Guyana’s abundant resources to be transformed into wealth for the prosperity of all citizens.

Cabinet Grants ‘No-Objection’ to Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) and the New Demerara Harbour Bridge (NDHB)

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Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP)

Cabinet, at its most recent meeting, has granted its ‘no objection’ for the Office of the Prime Minister to engage China Railway Group Limited to construct the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) based on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model where the company will supply electricity to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. at a cost not exceeding US$0.07737 per KWH and where the company will provide the entire equity required by the project and undertake all the risks associated with the project.

This follows the publication of a request for proposals by Government in various national newspapers during the period July 25 to August 15, 2021. A total of four companies submitted proposals, and China Railway Group Limited was identified as the most ‘capable partner’ by the Evaluation Committee after a rigorous evaluation process, following which the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) submitted the relevant recommendation to Cabinet for ‘no objection’.

The AFHP was first identified in 1976 by the Canadian company “Monenco’ during an extensive survey of hydroelectric power potential in Guyana. Various studies have since justified and strongly supported the construction of the AFHP. Recognizing the suitability and attractiveness of the project, the pre-2015 PPP/C Government had advanced preparation of AFHP by conducting extensive technical and financial studies of the project, including an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA). The then PPP/C Government had also mobilized international investor interest in the project, and a major private international investor (the Blackstone Group) had expressed serious interest in undertaking the project. Additionally, the then Government had earmarked US$80 million earned by Guyana under the Guyana-Norway partnership within the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) to help finance equity in the project.

These efforts to advance the project were blocked and derailed by the then APNU/AFC Opposition, who voted against the project in the National Assembly. The APNU/AFC later maintained their opposition to the project when they assumed office in 2015 and failed to offer any alternative to the project. This was despite the fact that the APNU/AFC Government in 2016, with support from Norway, hired an independent consultant (Norconsult) to review the project. The report, published in December 2016, recommended the development of AFHP as the best option for Guyana to achieve affordable, low-carbon electricity.

Consistent with a commitment given by the PPP/C to resume work to advance this project in the Party’s 2020 manifesto, on the basis of which the Party was elected to office in 2020, this Government has resumed efforts to realize this flagship project under the new and expanded LCDS. In its current formulation, it is expected that the project will require no equity contribution from Government, in comparison with the previous project structure which was based on a Government contribution of US$100 million. Additionally, the current structure anticipates a cost of power that will be lower than the initial cost of 11 cents per KWH contemplated by the previous project structure.

The AFHP will lower the cost of electricity needed to power Guyana’s economic diversification and transformation into a low carbon economy, as well as reduce the cost of power to the businesses and households. The project will also support initiatives such as the electrification of transport and e-mobility and accelerate the development of a robust ICT sector needed for an interconnected world as well as a competitive manufacturing sector.

The New Demerara Harbour Bridge (NDHB)

At the same meeting, Cabinet also granted its no-objection for the Ministry of Public Works (MoPW) to engage China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd. to construct the New Demerara Harbour Bridge (NDHB) based on a Design-Build-Finance (DBF) model with financial terms and conditions which would be no less favorable than those submitted in the preferred bidder’s price proposals. The proposal by China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd under the DBF model contemplates a construction cost of US$256.6 million, the lowest amongst all bidders.

Initially, the Government of Guyana, through the MoPW, pre-qualified nine (9) firms to submit bids for the construction of a two-lane dual carriageway (4 lanes) hybrid Cable-Stayed center span bridge with Concrete Box/T Beam Girder approach bridge structure with the following inclusions:

  • Bridge collision protection.
    • Navigation span to accommodate Handymax vessel Navigation aids.
    • Lighting, signage, and all other ancillary works.
    • Access road with a minimum of 50 meters up to abutments.
    • Toll collection buildings and ancillary buildings on the West Bank of the Demerara River.

The pre-qualified firms were invited to submit bids to construct the bridge using a Design-Build-Finance (D- B-F) contract and Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain (D-B-F-O-M) contract. At the pre-bid meeting, held on June 28, 2021, it was agreed that the closing date for submission of bids would be October 5, 2021. Only five of the pre-qualified bidders submitted bids, of which four (4) obtained the required minimum score for the technical proposal. The Evaluation Committee recommended that the Procuring Entity engage China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd. using the Design-Build-Finance (DBF) model on financing terms and conditions no less favourable than those proposed by the highest ranked bidder. The NPTAB subsequently submitted the recommendation to Cabinet, and Cabinet granted its ‘no objection’.

The NDHB comprises a critical component of the Government’s drive to expand and modernize Guyana’s transport infrastructure. It aims to replace the aging Demerara Harbour Bridge with a modern four-lane structure that will facilitate greater traffic capacity and dramatically improve commuter convenience. The new bridge will offer easy connectivity to both the existing East Bank Demerara road as well as the new Diamond to Ogle bypass on the eastern side of the River and to the existing West Bank Demerara Road and the new Parika to Schoonord Road on the western side of the River. The new bridge will also offer critical connectivity to the new Wales Development Authority which will be a major centre of productive activity when it comes on stream.