Crime on the East Coast has some investors reluctant to take up their lots at the Coldingen Industrial Estate, says Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manzoor Nadir.
In his end-of-year press briefing yesterday, Nadir reported that the ministry had repossessed and reallocated a number of lots at Eccles and at Coldingen because persons were not complying with the requirements. He added that many investors were concerned about the crime situation on the East Coast of Demerara and so unlike at Eccles, Coldingen did not have the same level of production and development as was expected.
Some 20 lots have already been repossessed and some reallocated at both Eccles and Coldingen. A number of lots are now available at Coldingen.
Nadir said the lots repossessed at Eccles had offer-letters and leases issued over four years ago and were not being developed.
The new leases for the industrial estate give an investor a certain timeframe within which to start operations.
Noting that some persons who could not develop the lots had even advertised them for sale, Nadir said the government spent about $5 million to put the infrastructure in place for each acre of land. This includes water, road, drainage and lights. "We ask people to pay at least a quarter of that development cost and a low annual rent."
As to the reasons for the inactivity, Nadir said the country's growth rate had been very slow at a rate of 1.5% to 2% and this was very low for a developing country.
But he said several lot owners were progressing and at Eccles there were only three vacant lots with a fish processing facility, a printery, garment factory and a brick and block-making plant up and running.
Meanwhile, the Lethem industrial estate in the Rupununi is due to come on stream in the New Year. The ministry received clearance from the Environmental Protection Agency to begin construction of the estate.
The contract for the design of the estate was advertised and the Central Tender Board will this week award the contract, Nadir said adding that there were already a number of applications for lots.
Nadir expects that as soon as the Takutu Bridge is completed and trade begins to increase between Guyana and Brazil, the ministry would be able to start locating industries at Lethem.
Like last year, Nadir said the ministry did not have the resources to pursue the creation of more industrial estates or factory shells as promised since most of the money allocated for this was tied up in debt relief negotiations.
What was promised was greater utilisation at the two existing industrial estates, Eccles and Coldingen and Nadir said this had to a great extent been achieved. In his budget speech he had promised that there would have been at least 1,000 jobs at the Eccles Industrial site. That area, he said, was today a hive of activity with construction and other works underway.
At Eccles, he said the ministry had maintained a clean environment and had constructed security huts. The ministry is to shortly engage the services of a security firm for the estate itself. This year, the ministry also established a management committee.
He expects that the Eccles Industrial Estate will be commissioned early in the New Year.