We can’t build FPSOs, so rent your property – VP Jagdeo
Kaieteur News – With the impending boom in the economy due to the emerging oil and gas sector, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, said Guyanese stands to benefit from the growing housing market and can gain substantially from property rental.
The FPSO Liza Destiny is currently producing oil in Guyana offshore Stabroek Block.
This is because the country is unable to support the emerging industry through initiatives such as the construction of Storage and Unloading of Floating Production (FPSO) – such as the Liza Destiny, which produces oil in the Stabroek Block right now.
Dr. Jagdeo at the time addressed some of the housing challenges facing Guyanese, especially from the Diaspora, in an online interview with the ‘Abee Chunes Radio’ in New York.
The former president, now Vice President, said, “in light of the development of the oil and gas sector, the property market must evolve into a business.”
He pointed out, however, that at present, the country does not have the required legislation for the construction and regulation of condominiums and such types of buildings that “people are going to be building.”
In that regard, Dr. Jagdeo was adamant, “we are carving out the rental market in the oil and gas industry for Guyanese” and suggested that as “we cannot build FPSOs, our people must benefit from renting and rent is significant and the market is growing, so we have to convert this into a business model. “
He related that, at present, “a lot of work is being done to update the laws” and referred to a recent ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which highlighted the Guyana issue of updating its housing laws.
Jagdeo noted that work has already started on this and added, “there is a rush now, because what is happening, there is a boom in the property market.”
The lucrative housing market was recently recognized as one of the country’s growing sectors as a result of the emerging oil and gas industry when India’s third largest public sector bank – Bank Baroda – apply for, and be designated as, the official Mortgage Finance Institution under Guyana laws.
The Institute was officially granted the status by a Senior Minister in the President’s Office, with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh.
At that time, the High Commissioner of India to Guyana, Dr. KJ Srinivasa, that the development trajectory that Guyana has undertaken in recent years, as a result of the country’s massive oil discovery, has largely led to the bank staying in the country.
Stakeholders noticed that, in 2018, the Bank is considering leaving the Guyana market where it maintains two of its 9,000 branches worldwide.
He noted that in 2018, while stakeholders discussed the future of the bank’s operation in Guyana, it was decided that the country’s projected growth would actually boost the financial institution with a worldwide customer base of some 113 million people.
Guyana, he said, was considered a developmental “growth story” and no one should miss out on the “golden opportunity”.
He was adamant that once Guyana’s growth began, real estate would become a particularly high-priced commodity and urged potential new homeowners to take urgent action.