President Ali confident Building Expo 2022 to narrate Guyana’s future

President Irfaan Ali said that 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. Ali made this disclosure at the launch at the Pegasus Hotel, Georgetown.

Launched under the theme “A New Frontier for Building a One Guyana” on Wednesday evening, the expo is slated for July 22 to 24.  “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,” Ali said.

President Ali pointed out that major infrastructural transformation is taking shape across the country. He said that  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

Ali noted that 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,” President Ali had said in reference.

The Head of State had disclosed 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,” Ali said.

Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal, spoke of the rapid pace at which Guyana is developing even though faced with many challenges and global uncertainties. Croal stressed that the Government will continue to pursue developments that are inclusive, and in keeping with the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030. Minister Croal disclosed 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.

Junior Minister of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, spoke of some achievements in the housing sector since the PPP/C has returned to office including the 800 low to moderate income and young professional homes constructed, and the over 10,000 houselots distributed to Guyanese. Minister Rodrigues noted 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. She said that these include the removal of VAT from construction materials and the ceiling on low-income loans increased.

President Ali following the feature address, unveiled a 3D Map of the venue. Also present were ministers of government, members of the diplomatic community and the private sector. It was revealed that the first ever International Building Exposition was held under the PPP/C Administration in 2010. It had brought together home owners, prospective home owners and entities from the construction, manufacturing and services sectors.