The same old echoes

Feb 21, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – We have heard it all before. We are hearing it again.

The plans did not go anywhere in the past. They are not going to go anywhere at present or in the future.

We heard before about the plans for a deep-water harbour that will allow Guyana to be a major transshipment point for goods to Brazil. As late as 2010, Bharrat Jagdeo was speaking about a deep-water harbour in Berbice, with a road from Brazil being connected to the harbor.

Ten years after, we heard that CGX was supposed to be building a deep-water port. But then last August, it was said that what is being built cannot be classified as either a deep-water harbor or port.

We were also told last year that that India and Dubai were under consideration for the construction of such a project. But as everything else, the details remained elusive. But it was also emphasized that a link to Brazil was key to the viability of such a project.

Last September 2023, it was reported that President Ali had said that the country will have only one deep water port, if found feasible, with the intention of being a container hub which supports the region and parts of South America.

The Stabroek News reported him as saying “The deep-water port that we are planning for Guyana is one that looks at where Guyana will be positioning itself in a world 2030 and beyond; how it will integrate the regional demand with that port. So, it will not just be looking at servicing the oil and gas sector. That is just a small component.”

But in this same report, the President was quoted as indicating the construction of the deep-water port would have to be a private sector venture. The government would however support it.

At this week’s Guyana Energy Conference, we learnt that a deep-water harbour is on the cards again for Berbice. But, as usual not many details were provided. We will have to wait and see whether the talk is just gaffe.

Guyanese have become so tired of hearing about the deep-water harbor that they may not take anything seriously. The advantages which the construction of the harbor and the road to Brazil would have originally offered no longer exist. You need a road to Brail to make the port viable and Brazil is not going to build the road for Guyana, not with Guyana being an oil producing state.

We are now learning that Guyana will sell corn and soya to Brazil using the road. Guyana has long outsourced its corn and soya production to the Brazilians. They do not need a road for that.

But we are also hearing now that liquefied natural gas may be on the cards to be transported on the road. When the idea of the road was being built and also when the idea of the bridge over the Corentyne River was birthed, oil production had not commenced. But it is nice that we are finding uses for the plans for the road to Lethem and for the bridge over the Corentyne River.

But where are the feasibility studies for these projects? Probably stashed away in someone’s head!

We have long heard also about building a gold refinery.  But on in April 2018, when the APNU+AFC spoke about building such a refinery, the Guyana Times newspaper reported then Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo as saying that there is no need for a gold refinery.

At this week’s Energy Conference, we are told that there is interest in establishing a gold refinery in Guyana. President Ali is reported to have said, ““With the cost of energy coming down, and with Guyana being a golden country in many ways…With our gold reserve, it makes the gold refinery viable. We are already seeing tremendous interest in establishing a gold refinery here in Guyana.”

We are also told that an aluminum plant may be on the cards. In 2006, we read about plans for the Bosai Minerals Group Company Ltd to invest US$1 billion in an alumina refinery and aluminum smelter. Nothing materialized

President Ali, however, now sees a real possibility of an aluminum plant if the cost of power is reduced. But the issue is not so much the cost of power as it is about the amount of power required for a smelter. In 2020, the APNU+AFC had hinted that if natural gas was brought to shore, then there was a possibility of an aluminum smelter.

Guyanese must not hold their breaths while waiting for this project.  Doing so can be fatal.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

• August, Brazil, echoes, future, Peeping Tom