Synieka Thorne – April 21, 2022
The return of International Building Expo this year, will be used as a way to narrate Guyana’s future development, as it is designed to showcase development trajectory through the construction and other sectors, His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali said at the launch at the Pegasus Hotel, Georgetown.
The expo slated for July 22 to 24, was officially launched under the theme “A New Frontier for Building a One Guyana” on Wednesday evening.
“The development of our country and understanding the development of our country can be done through this Building Expo. It is an opportunity to basically narrate the future through planning and through positioning, and that is what Building expo helps us to do,” President Ali said.
Already, the president said that major infrastructural transformation is taking shape across the country. Plans are in place to commence construction of at least four new government buildings, a new stadium, a number of new hotels, shopping malls, six new regional hospitals, a maternal hospital and apartment complex.
300 prefab houses to be built for CPL
Additionally, the government is looking to construct 300 pre-fabricated homes to satisfy the accommodation demand during the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL) cricket season in Guyana.
“The pre-fab will be used for people, to rest during cricket and the revenues from that rental will go as down payment at the banks for the poorest persons, to the 10/15 percent that they have to find for the bank will come from the revenue from that rent. That is the type of innovation we are talking about in moving forward,” he announced.
President Ali noted that these developments must not be done in isolation, as all stakeholders, particularly the private sector have a role to play in moving Guyana forward through innovation and technology.
“Building expo must demonstrate how do we get to a position that in the next three years we can have the technology that will see us building 5000 homes, what it is required to take us there,” the head of state said.
Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, M.P spoke of the rapid pace at which Guyana is developing even though faced with many challenges and global uncertainties. He noted that the Government will continue to pursue developments that are inclusive, and in keeping with the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030.
The Minister added that the expo will provide rich opportunities for home builders, contractors, the private sector and other stakeholders, as well as local and international investors. It will also be a hub around which conversations about the constraints and potential for sustainable development within the housing and construction sector can take place.
Minister within the Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, M.P spoke of some achievements in the housing sector since the PPP/C Administration took office including the 800 low to moderate income and young professional homes constructed, and the over 10,000 houselots distributed to Guyanese.
The minister said that homeownership is important to the government and therefore, very early, the government implemented a number of measures to allow prospective homeowners to have easy access to loans to build or purchase their homes. These include the removal of VAT from construction materials and the ceiling on low-income loans increased.
Following the feature address, President Ali unveiled a 3D Map of the venue. Also present were ministers of government, members of the diplomatic community and the private sector.
The first ever International Building Exposition was held under the PPP/C Administration in 2010. It brought together home owners, prospective home owners and entities from the construction, manufacturing and services sectors.
