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Two new ferries for Essequibo before next year end
Officials at the signing yesterday for two new ferries for the Essequibo area. From left is Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Prime Minister Sam Hinds, Public Works Minister, Robeson Benn, Commercial Officer at the Chinese Embassy, Huang Shaowen, and Ambassador, Yu Wenzhe.
Government yesterday signed contracts with the Chinese Government that will pave the way for two brand new ferries for the Essequibo routes before next year end.
The US$14M boats, similar to the Makouria class vessels and of the Canaiwaima size, have been described as a New Year’s gift by the local Chinese Embassy.
According to Minister of Transport, Robeson Benn, at yesterday’s signing at his Kingston office, the two new ferries will supplement the current fleet that are operating in Essequibo where it increasingly has shown that there is a huge demand for the vessels.
The two new vessels are being built under a Chinese grant and could be here earlier than the 2011 year-end timeline given.
Benn explained, yesterday, that with the redeployment of two ferries from the Berbice River to Essequibo, following the construction of the Berbice Bridge, it was at first thought that the increased fleet would handle the demand in that latter area.
However, even a twice-a-week Bartica run is showing increasing demand with clear evidence that the vessel there is working in a capacity-filled situation.
The new vessels will come equipped with roll-on/roll-off features that would necessitate the modifications of the stellings at Parika and Supenaam to allow for this feature. Currently, the Supenaam stelling is closed because of problems to the ramp, but authorities signaled their intention to commission the facility with the modifications way before the vessel arrive.
Also at the signing yesterday were Prime Minister, Sam Hinds, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Yu Wenzhe and his Commercial Officer, Huang Shaowen.
According to the Ambassador, the vessels could be considered a Christmas and New Year’s gift to the people of Guyana a country which over the years has seen lots of cooperation between the two countries. The ferries will also be a significant improvement for the lives of the people of Essequibo, especially farmers.
The Prime Minister echoed sentiments about the growing relationship between China and Guyana and urged that instead of the 12-month construction time, that the vessels be completed even by mid-year.
The Foreign Affairs Minister said that the negotiations were ongoing for some time now and are part of long line of cooperation with the Chinese. Other gifts, courtesy of the Chinese Government, include the Skeldon factory and International Convention Centre. She noted that Guyana had developed relations with China since 1972 and this relationship has grown from strength to strength since then.
With the building of a bridge across the Essequibo River not immediately in the horizons of the administration because of the cost factors, authorities are left with few options other than ferries to cater for the rice and farm produce being moved from mainly the Essequibo coast to the city.
The current ferries operation there, including Malali and Torani, has long passed the lifetime with increasing costs for maintenance a real challenge for officials.
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