Fidelity Investment Inc., a company with ties to the Guyana Fire, Life and General Insurance Company(GuyFlag), has invested US$5M to supply the local market with Venezuelan cement.
GuyFlag, through assistance from its parent company SAFCO, a US-based securities holding company, was able to enter the international cement market.
"The recent shortage of cement on the local market has impacted negatively on the booming housing industry and construction generally," explained Joshua Safeek, CEO of GuyFlag, in a press statement issued at the Guyana National Shipping Company wharf.
Safeek is encouraging the public to begin building because "the Guyanese public will never be out of cement."
Yesterday, the media was invited to the Guyana National Shipping Corporation(GNSC) wharf to view the unloading of the third shipment of cement for September, bringing the total cement imported last month to 9,000 tonnes.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds was also present and remarked that this would increase local competition and bring some assurances to contractors. The company plans to import between 10,000 tonnes to 15,000 tonnes per month. In August, Fidelity imported 3,000 tonnes.
Cement is selling for over $1300 a bag in some places but Fidelity will be selling for around $1000 and supplies will be available from the GNSC wharf or from GuyFlag's offices around the country.
Safeek noted that this same Venezuelan cement is being shipped to Miami and it meets all the specifications of the American Institute of Architecture.
"What we have here is a superior product." He said they have already sold to the major distributors and are "not cutting out the chain [of distribution] that is out there." It is selling "as fast as it comes," he said.
Their goal is "to break the monopoly of supply of major products by foreign companies so that consumers will have good quality products with a reliable supply at affordable, competitive prices."
"Guyanese consumers have been held at ransom by a multi-national cement supplier for years."
The bond at GNSC has capacity to stock 2,500 to 3,000 tonnes and another bond with a capacity for 1,500 tonnes will also be used. There are 3000 tonnes now in stock and a shipment for this month is expected next week.
To encourage the importation of extra-regional cement, the government recently extended its waiver on the Common External Tariff since regional supplier Trinidad Cement Limited was not meeting the demand.