US$4M loan signed between IDB-Invest, Muneshwers for Guyana’s first mobile crane

Nov 01, 2022 News

---

Kaieteur News – Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh on Monday witnessed the signing of a US$4M loan agreement between IDB Invest and Muneshwers’ Limited for the procurement of Guyana’s first mobile crane for the shipping industry.

IDB Invest is the private sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Its aim is to advance economic development and improve lives by encouraging the growth of the private sector. It offers an array of investment opportunities and provides its clients with customized financing solutions and expert advice, tailored to their specific industry and market

Muneshwers wharf is set to be modernised with the acquisition of this new equipment.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the loan agreement would be the most recent one signed in relation to that financial institution’s assistance and support for a private sector investment project.

During the signing ceremony which took place just after a courtesy call on Dr. Singh by new General Manager of the Country Department Caribbean (CCB), Tariq Alli, the Finance Minister expressed his appreciation to the CCB.

The Country Department Caribbean (CCB) is responsible for the promotion and development of Bank country strategies and programming in The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago and via the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States

Minister Singh also expressed appreciation to Chief Executive Officer of IDB Invest, James Scriven, for the work done in order for Guyana to have reached this point in terms of partnership with the IDB.

Minister Singh also thanked the private sector in Guyana, including the team at Muneshwers led by Robin Muneshwer whose perseverance, according to Dr. Singh played a great part in the project materializing.

“I think it goes without saying that this is an incredibly exciting time in Guyana’s economic history. The country is undergoing unprecedented economic growth. We are going to be growing by more than 25 % over the medium term, easily by more than 25 % in the next three to four years. This has catalyzed the remarkable expansion in the non-oil economy,” Dr Singh explained.

He added that Government wants to use this period in Guyana to build out as quickly as possible ‘the foundation of a strong and competitive non-oil economy and for this reason we are building our infrastructure very aggressively, building capacity for social services, roads, bridges, ports, hospitals, schools etc. and we are doing this with the support of a number of strategic and important development partners, not least among whom is the IDB’.

Minister Singh also expressed appreciation for the strong support the IDB has been providing on the public sector side.

“Given the changes that are taking place in the Guyanese economy, we see the role played by institutions like the IDB changing somewhat in the course of the next few years. And, in particular, we see the need for increased emphasis on private sector operations because, in fact, this rapid expansion in the Guyanese economy is being driven by the private sector and requires sustained investment by the private sector going forward,” Minister Singh said.

“We would like to see more private sector operations done because we see this as absolutely critical to ensure that we are able to realize the private sector-led growth that we anticipate will take us through the medium term to long term,” the Finance Minister emphasised.

Alluding to the importance of this specific project, Dr. Singh concluded that the significance of the project does not only lie in the amount invested but in the fact that the IDB can do business with the private sector in Guyana.

In April this year, the Finance Minister hosted a Roundtable meeting with representatives of the Private Sector and James Scriven at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) where the teams discussed Guyana’s Development Agenda. The meeting focused on the wide range of private-sector opportunities for possible investment by the Bank such as an expansion of trade financing with Commercial Banks and providing support to micro-enterprises.

Additionally, discussions centered on various sectors poised for rapid expansion including oil and gas, agriculture and agro-processing, tourism and Information Communications Technology (ICT). It also allowed for an examination of available financing instruments, various mechanisms, and modalities of accessing this financing and examples of how these mechanisms have worked in other countries.

Moreover, the Government of Guyana (GoG) has been working to create the conditions for private sector-led growth with government policies designed to create jobs and allow for income generation.

---

---