And his foresight bore enormous fruit and commercial success for local industrialists and the national economy.

Many of the industries put down there survived the extremely difficult economic and foreign exchange constraints in the late 1970s and 1980s - testimony that their foundations were laid strong in the 1960s.

Some of Guyana's largest manufacturers are located there - the Continental Group of Companies started by Indian national S.K. Puri, Banks DIH, Twins Manufacturing, a large pharmaceutical and insecticide company, among a host of others.

The companies at the Ruimveldt Industrial Site are responsible for a significant proportion of the country's GDP, as well as being among the largest employers.

Ever since Dr. Jagan entered the political arena he showed tremendous confidence in the local business community's ability to industrialise and develop the local economy, and in the 1960s imposed tariffs on foreign beer to protect the lone local beer company Banks DIH.

Industrial estates undoubtedly are a great stimulus to industrial development and expansion and commerce.

They do not only give local entrepreneurs the opportunity to use their enterprise, initiative and drive for the benefit of themselves and the national economy, but they create significant levels of employment, enhance the development of the communities in which they are located and stimulate the growth of secondary industries.

But most significantly is that these estates steer and facilitate entrepreneurs into manufacturing-producing industrial and value added goods which is crucial to breaking the economy from being a traditional exporter of primary products and raw materials.

Against the backdrop of globalisation and trade liberalisation it is imperative that industrialisation of the national economy is accelerated if Guyana is to become competitive on the global market.

To achieve this it is essential that it produces unique products of the highest quality at competitive prices, and one of the mechanisms towards this is the establishment of more industrial estates.

In this regard, the announcement by the Minister of Trade, Tourism and Industry, Mr. Manzoor Nadir, that investors who occupy plots at all industrial estates will be given a 99-year lease, is a most welcome development.

This is a step in the right direction and will certainly act as an incentive and confidence builder for investors and would be investors.