Infrastructure work boosts Mazaruni's prospects
Stabroek News
June 11, 2004
A year after Mazaruni Granite Products Limited (MGPL) went into receivership with debts of US$13M, prospects are looking brighter for the company, in part from the large infrastructure projects underway in Guyana.
It must be a cruel irony for its previous investor, Managing Director Peter Cummings who had banked on the projects as a base from which he could start exporting to the Caribbean. Delays caused in part by political unrest meant many of the projects did not come on stream until last year including the East Bank Highway, the Timehri to Rosignol bridges project and various sea defence works.
Now, under the stewardship of Receiver/Manager Maurice Solomon appointed by the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT) Merchant Bank in May 2003, the company is still operating and the payroll although trimmed remains at a little less than 100 workers. MGPL is being run by local managers and one from Trinidad.
The company has also found markets in Suriname as part of that country's road projects as well as in Trinidad, while there has been some interest from Curacao.
While the company is benefiting from increased local demand, sources indicate that this will eventually diminish as projects end. By then only the regional market will be able to sustain the plant which has a capacity of 3M tonnes per year.
Many observed that the quarry was simply too large for Guyana's needs and shipping stone to Caribbean islands was uneconomical. There has been some interest in the company from overseas investors.
MGPL started operations at the Teperu quarry in the Mazaruni River in 1997 taking over from Guyana Granite Products Ltd. MGPL had mobilised investment from a number of persons locally and Development Finance Limited of Trinidad also had a small equity stake in it and had extended US$3M in credit to it.