GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The International Building Exposition 2024 opened here on Thursday night with the private sector saying it provides an opportunity to engage with global patterns, explore cutting-edge technologies, while the government used the occasion to highlight major expansions and development in the housing and construction sectors.
chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Komal Singh, addressing the opening of the Exposition on Thursday nightMore than 500 local and international exhibitors are participating in this year’s Expo being held under the theme “Building on the Foundation of Sustainability and Unity”. It ends on Sunday.
President Irfaan Ali, addressing the opening ceremony, credited his government’s intervention in a number of areas related to the housing sector, for the expansion of the sector, saying home ownership has been made easier for thousands of Guyanese.
He told the ceremony that more than GUY$240 billion (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) has been allocated to the housing sector in the national budget over the past four years.
He said that investment resulted in the regularizing of housing settlements, the delivery of over 35,000 house lots and the construction close to 2,000 new homes as well community roads and four-lane highways.
“In addition, 128,000 citizens would have benefitted from improved shelter from our house lot allocation since we have assumed office in 2020. Importantly, the total subsidy or wealth transfer to the beneficiary of house lot if approximately GUY$94 billion during this period”.
Ali said the government also moved to increase the mortgage interest relief from GUY$15 million to GUY$30 million, benefitting almost 17,000 home owners.
“Look around the world in the last four years and see where mortgage rate for housing is going, see where lending for housing is going and look at what is happening here. It is not increasing, we have increased the interest rates on mortgage for housing by 2.5 while increasing the ceiling for lending while the ceiling is decreasing globally,” Ali said, noting that those interventions saw a 20 per cent increase in housing loans.
“These are the things that sometimes go unnoticed, these are the transformation that take place that sometimes we don’t put the right value to…and this is not only in one region, this is across every single region,” the President noted.
Over 350 new contractors have been involved in the building of government housing, and the President Ali said further expansion will take place, as the Government looks at other policies for the sector, including the setting of a special housing programe for single parents.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Komal Singh, said that the exposition presents a unique opportunity for Guyana’s private sector to engage with global patterns, explore cutting-edge technologies, and harness the potential of Guyana’s rapidly expanding construction, real estate, and agriculture sectors.
He said the event is also a platform where innovation meets opportunity and where the collective vision of a progressive and sustainable Guyana could be showcased globally.
“This Expo is more than just an exhibition. It is a gateway to collaboration, innovation and growth. The event provides an ideal platform for businesses to showcase their products and services, forge strategic alliances, and contribute to the growing transformation of Guyana’s infrastructure landscape.”
Singh, who expressed satisfaction with the number of diverse industry leaders, investors, and stakeholders at the Expo, told the opening ceremony “the future of Guyana is bright and we have the opportunity to shape it together.
“I encourage all participants to take full advantage of the opportunities presented here to network, innovate, and collaborate. [Let us] continue to build on a solid foundation laid by our government and private sector and drive this country forward into a new era of prosperity and development,” Singh said.
He said that the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is projected to reach another 34.3 per cent, driven by increased oil and gas production and activities in the other sectors.
Other sectors like construction, manufacturing, and agriculture have played a pivotal role in strengthening the non-oil economy.
