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Govt. considering over a dozen quarry licence applications
– as complaints continue over stone shortages
Authorities are reviewing more than a dozen applications for new quarries in an effort to scale up stone production in the country.
The disclosure was made yesterday after Durban Quarries Inc. landed at a Kingston facility with over 1,000 tonnes of stone. It was the first time that Durban, one of the newer players in the quarrying sector, would have been shipping to the city.
Durban Quarries landing its first 1,000 tonnes shipment of stone at the Kingston “Mudflats” yesterday.
Director of the Quarry, Vishnu Ramdial, who was on hand to oversee the landing of his new pontoon and tug, in which almost $130M was invested, said that his quarry was prepared to supply similar amounts every two days to meet demands.
The stone issue has been engaging the Cabinet of Ministers in recent times as the demand continue to grow from the housing boom and several large scale private and public projects.
There have been complaints of buyers not being able to acquire simple demands of the half-inch or three quarter inch stones, an aggregate that is especially in high demand in the home construction field.
Several of the Government projects have suffered delays because of the stone issue. A number of the operators have denied that there is a shortage.
Quarry operators themselves have been citing logistical problems in getting the stones down to the city.
In the case of Durban, the quarry is located up the Mazaruni. Some of the operators have been using the hinterland roadways and have been complaining also about these.
Because of the ready availability of wharves, the Ministry of Public Works allowed the use of the Kingston area, west of the Marriott Hotel.
Also on hand yesterday was Minister of Natural Resources, Robert Persaud, who made it clear that Government is convinced about the potential of the quarrying sector.
It is always “sad when local contractors and even Government have to contemplate importing materials given the vast resources.”
There have been ongoing meetings between authorities and the operators about the need to increase production and have the stones available.
Persaud admitted that operators themselves have been complaining about shortages and logistical challenges of moving the stone to the coast. Government has even been engaging the Guyana Revenue Authority to speed up the transaction time for spare parts being imported.
Regarding new players and the current situation, the Minister said that terms and conditions of the licences that have been issued are being studied.
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