Race against time: GTE contractors double crew, roll out 24-hour shifts to beat deadline

Oct 12, 2025 News

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(Kaieteur News) – Contractors of the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project, Lindsayca/ CH 4, have doubled the labour force and will soon commence 24-hour construction activities to deliver the plant by next year.

The GTE project features a 12-inch pipeline to transport gas from offshore, as well as a power plant and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility. ExxonMobil Guyana Limited has already completed the pipeline aspect of the project.

President Irfaan Ali on Friday evening visited the Wales Development site, on the West Bank of Demerara where the final pour for the foundation base of the fourth turbine was completed.

In a live update from the site, the Head of State reported, “Work is accelerating and one of the things that the contractor, the consultant and the project team is committing to is working 24/7, increasing not only the man-hours but the manpower itself. The engineering and labour force here will more than double in the coming weeks so that we can get back on a timeline as quickly as possible.”

Head of the GTE Taskforce, Winston Brassington shared a more technical update on the project. He detailed, “The work is progressing from the power plant to the substation in the north and then around to the NGL plant. With the foundation being poured, the four gas turbines should be laid and the foundation by December and a lot of the heavy equipment brought in and placed and foundations.”

Brassington added that most of the equipment for the plant has been manufactured and is already in-country, while the more material is currently being shipped. He expects that majority of the equipment will arrive by early January, 2026. As such, Brassington said, “So what will remain is completing the civil works, what’s going on now and continuing and then it’s a lot of detailed work, the pipe racks, the cable trays, so the intention is to try to get everything finished by next year.”

A representative of Lindsayca, who did not state his name, shared that there are currently about 400 persons working on the project. He said, “We start from next month working 24-hours. Our target is to finish this project next year.”

In brief remarks, a representative of the Consultant firm, Engineers India Limited (EIL), whose name was also not stated, reported that 9303 piles are required for the project, with most of the work already completed. Additionally, he pointed out, “We have already started excavation for the substation…and by next week we are going forward with the concrete in pouring for the substation as well.”

Overall, 25,000 cubic meters of concrete will be poured for the power plant, substation NGL plant and other ancillary infrastructure.

In the meantime, President Ali said that government is currently planning for a fertilizer plant to be constructed on-site. It was explained that the 1400-acre site will be bound by Free-and-Easy, Maria’s Lodge and the Demerara River. According to Brassington, “We have room for a fertilizer plant, a glass factory, data centres, a second substation to Kalpataru, an area for a small industrial electricity users.” Already, a study has been completed on the need for glass bottles in the Region.

President Ali reiterated that the fertilizer plant, currently being explored alongside other initiatives for the utilization of the country’s gas resources will feature local investment. “We have said we wanted to have as much local involvement as possible, that is from an investment perspective so we are going to bring together the design planners, we have to have the engineering companies and the builders because as you know this is a very specialized piece of investment but we want this investment to be owned as far as possible by locals and with the government itself,” the President stated.

The GTE project aims to reduce the cost of electricity in Guyana by a whopping 50%. It is expected to add 300 megawatts of electricity in its initial phase. Guyana is also poised to become a major producer of cooking gas, most of which will be exported. The first phase is expected to cost close to US$2B, the country’s single largest project ever pursued.

Government previously intended for the initiative to come on stream in 2025 but construction delays not only pushed the timeline back but resulted in a dispute between the GoG and the contractor.

Since its inception, opposition members have been pressing government to release key documents release key documents and agreements for the project which continue to be hidden.

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• ExxonMobil Guyana, gas-to-energy, labour force, offshore

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