Sod turned for $150M Demerara Bank branch at Leonora

Jul 15, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Demerara Bank on Thursday ceremonially turned the sod for the construction of a $150 million branch office at Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

An artist’s impression of $150 million new Demerara Bank facility at Leonora, WCD.

According to the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pravichandra Dave, the facility which is expected to be completed within the next 18 months will provide accessible banking services to thousands of customers traversing the West Coast Demerara route. According to the CEO, Demerara Bank—has been leading in its support for investment in the agricultural, mining and other sectors. “Demerara Bank has loaned 57 percent to agricultural sectors; 47 percent to mining sector…and we have notable support the others sectors as well,” Dave said.

He added: “Our bank everything is locally based which means we don’t have to go Trinidad or Barbados to get our applications approved. Applications are approved within two days times; we have good relations with stakeholders including the Ministry of Finance and the IDB.”

According to Dave, it is estimated that with the construction of the facility, 75,000 people from the services available at Leonora. Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh who spoke at the event noted that Demerara Bank’s new location is poised to benefit from the ongoing developmental initiatives happening on the West Coast of Demerara.

He noted that while Georgetown and its environs has historically been referred to as the business epicenter of Guyana, developments on West Demerara. “…Just recently, we signed contract for a new Demerara River Bridge that new river bridge will connect to a new road from Crane to Schoonord that will assist commuters from the West Coast of Demerara and East Bank Essequibo, and from the Essequibo Island that road will ease the congestion for commuters heading towards the bridge and across the bridge…So this new location is quite strategic given the impending developments.”

In his remarks, President Irfaan Ali hailed the establishment of the new branch a “financially-smart move and economically viable move.” He noted that the government is also steaming ahead with the establishment of the Wales Development Authority on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD), which will see the creation of Guyana’s first gas-to-shore project that will harness natural gas produced in oil fields offshore to generate cheaper electricity. “The scale of development is changing rapidly…This investment with everything else that is happening around here will create a modern economic hub that will create thousands of jobs,” Ali said. President Ali noted too that the demand for housing and services will skyrocket in the future. He noted too that the housing developments are set to continue on both sides of the Demerara.

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