Five new sand mining licenses approved since Jagdeo claimed halt on process

Dec 12, 2025 News

(Kaieteur News) – At least five new sand mining licenses were issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after Vice President (VP), Bharrat Jagdeo claimed that government halted the approval of further permits to facilitate the Silica City project on the Linden Highway.

A review of the EPA’s website, done by this newspaper found that about five new permits were approved since Jagdeo’s revelation in March 2024. In addition to the new permits for sand mining on the Highway and other areas, a number of applications for renewal of permits were also approved by the regulator.

Five new sand mining licenses approved since Jagdeo claimed halt on process

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

Jagdeo in March last year disclosed that the government has made the decision to stop issuing sandpit mining permits, after it was revealed that the then Acting Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken and Acting Deputy Commissioner Calvin Brutus at the time applied for sand mining operations on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

Kaieteur News reported that Hicken and Brutus each secured 11.7 acres of land for their respective sand mining projects in Yarrowkabra, Soesdyke/Linden Highway and submitted their applications to the EPA for permission to proceed with their operations.

The project summaries were published on the regulator’s website since February 26, 2024.

The VP however made it clear during a press conference that no new licenses would be approved.

Four of the new sand mining permits issued by the EPA.

“Let me make it clear that the Government of Guyana on the highway has put a hold on all the sandpits…we are trying to get large tracts of land to do the Silica City on the highway so we want the land for public use, housing and development of new towns along the highway etcetera, so we can’t only give out (land),” he declared.

Jagdeo noted that while EPA has published a notice in relation to the sandpits for Hicken and Brutus – he underscored that the Government’s position is clear and that the applications will not be granted. “It’s not going to happen…Now they may have the land for agriculture use, that is what people have land for but not for the purpose of mining sand, we have to have a strategy that brings down the price (of sand),” the Vice President noted.

The new permits approved do not relate to applications made by the former cop and the new Commissioner of Police.

In fact, four of the new sand mining permits were granted to Christopher Williams, Director of CNH Establishment Inc, while the fifth approval was extended to Richard Hanif.

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EPA, Jagdeo, licenses, Mining, permits, sand, Sand Mining

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