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3,800 acres set aside for new ‘smart city’ complete with golf course – Croal
Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana is forging ahead with the idea of building a new smart city, complete with modern amenities, including a Golf course resort facility, an Eco- Industrial park and Streetscape designs.
Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal provides an update on Guyana’s newest proposed city.
As such, some 3,800 acres of land have been set aside for the pursuit of this initiative—the development of a new city in Guyana, Silica City. According to Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, a preliminary development concept has already been completed identifying the key features of “the smart city approach in terms of residential and non-residential development, transport and infrastructure, sustainable urban drainage, conservation and tourism district, waste management, alternative energy, technological aspects and agriculture.”
Consultations, he said, are on-going with the utility companies to coordinate the development of their infrastructure since it is anticipated that a shared utility corridor will cater for all utilities to be routed underground.
To this end, Minister Croal told the National Assembly, the defined area of interest for development is located within the vicinity of the Soesdyke-Timehri area, “where approximately 3,800 acres of state land have been identified as available for immediate development.”
The government minister gave the update during his contribution to the Budget debates which concluded on Friday last at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) where he said, it is envisaged that over the next 20 years, the projected population for this new city will be approximately 50,000 or about 12,500 households.
This, in light of “employment creation and accommodating new households within a non-coastal settlement, therefore, within the first five years, it is expected that the city would be developed to cater for at least 3,125 households, approximately 625 units annually.”
According to Minister Croal, the “smart city” approach is proposed for creating a new city that is compact, pedestrian-oriented, energy-efficient, interconnected and sustainable, comfortable, attractive and secure and that a key area of focus, “is the preservation and enhancement of the valuable, natural and cultural resources of the area.”
He told Members of Parliament, “the vision for Silica City is the creation of a vibrant, sustainable, resilient and modern city, and this vision is in keeping with the Low Carbon Development Strategy, Guyana’s international commitments.”
The idea of Silica City, he said, is primarily born out of the need for Guyana to have an urban centre that is complementary to the existing capital city of Georgetown.
Silica City, as conceptualised since 2013, was first touted by then Minister of Housing and Water, now President, Irfaan Ali. According to Minister Croal, it is envisaged to tackle the issue of non-coastal urban settlement development and the challenges of climate change and sea level rise.
“There is therefore a compelling reason for urgent attention to be given to the development of Silica City as a more non-coastal urban settlement, inclusive of services and amenities that would attract investment, create employment, and offer alternative urban settlement development at higher elevations.”
Additionally, Minister Croal in his update to the House disclosed that design work will commence this year for a first phase housing development within the proposed residential zone of the new city, after the block and topographic surveys are completed.
According to Minister Croal, he is convinced that Budget 2022 is good for the country—since it is a Budget that includes more benefits for ordinary citizens and projects that will allow the construction sector to grow to 40.3 percent and presents a clear and cohesive plan for Guyana’s development trajectory.
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