Natural gas landing site not under purview Industry Minister
… As a Govt. says no plan to subsidize electricity for manufacturing
Industrial sites or zones in Guyana fall under the Ministry with responsibility for Industry and Commerce, but this Ministry will not oversee the Welsh Industrial Estate site.
First Minister, Mark Phillips.
This was confirmed by the subject Minister, Oneidge Walrond, during an interview with moderators, Dr. Asquith Rose and Charles Sugrim, on Monday during the Globespan24X7 broadcast. He told the moderators that the government plans to establish two new industrial zones this year and that they are looking to establish at least two or three in each region and name the Wales Estate as a proposed industrial zone.
“For this year, we are going to add two more and we anticipate one in Wales.”
However, he immediately noted, “not all of them are going to fall under my portfolio, others will be developed in other areas.”
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo.
The Minister at the time was unable to provide a detailed analysis of the proposed industrial zones to be established. The Wales Estate has been proposed as the landing site for Natural Gas from Cae Liza operated by ExxonMobil.
Expanding on the domain oversight, he underlined that “I’m not the only one going to industrial estates.”
However, he did not specify under whom the oversight of the Welsh Estate site would fall under his Administration.
The Minister also pointed out during the interview that the cost of energy in Guyana remains a barrier to manufacturing in the country, but the government does not intend to subsidize electricity.
Referring to the onshore gas project, Walrond noted that the government is taking steps to fulfill one of its campaign promises, “energy prices will fall.”
According to Minister Walrond, “we recognize that it is a barrier and a barrier to manufacturing in Guyana; it’s way too expensive. ”
He revealed, “I know that my colleagues, the Minister for Public Works and the First Minister (Mark Phillips), and all those responsible for energy production have been at work – including the VP (Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo) – to see the fruits of our gas project ashore. ”
This, he said, with the intention of reducing the cost of electricity, “we made the manifesto promise and you can be sure we will deliver.”
She was adamant that while there is no plan to subsidize electricity in Guyana, “there is certainly an investment and an operational work plan to bring energy alternatives into Guyana, so it can serve our manufacturing sector.”
In recent months, the gas-to-shore project has been part of a public debate about its pros and cons, with the latest adding its voice to the rogue Guyanese, based in the US, Professor Terrence Blackman, who questioned the rationale behind this past week. the location. The academic, in a recent interview with Kaieteur Radio, lamented that there is little information in the public domain about the likely development costs of the land in Wales, the location of a former sugar estate.
He highlighted the accessibility of the location for its proposed use, namely the construction of a power generation plant for the use of the associated gas coming from Cae Liza. Professor Blackman said his first option was to support the initiative for sentimental reasons, underlining that there were entire communities that relied on the sugar estate before closing, adding that his support was rooted in the re-letting of the estate “And so bring in the Natural gas this site seems like a good idea. ”
This January announcement had stated that although the Vice President, Dr. Jagdeo, having revealed to members of the media that the government had decided to land the gas project in Wales, the administration was still releasing the relevant environmental studies that support that option. It should be noted that previous studies, commissioned by the former APNU + AFC administration, did not list Wales as one of the most cost effective options for landing the project, which would bring gas from the Liza Phase One Project at 20 years. .