Shortage in construction material hits E’bo Construction Industry.

The construction industry on the Essequibo Coast appears to be in jeopardy, as recent reports points to a shortage of construction materials on Region Two. This issue was raised recently by the proprietor of a popular hardware store, during a stakeholder meeting with the Guyana Office for Investment [GO-Invest].

The businessman, Toolsie Persaud, told the CEO of Go-Invest Peter Ramsaroop there has been a shortage of materials for a month now. He blames this shortage for the current increase in costs for materials as he explained cement is now attracting more money.

“Businesses are affected seriously as it relates to access to materials from Georgetown, presently we are affected by the shipping of cement in this region, and that problem adds $100 to the cost of cement.”

This publication understands that boats will usually transport building supplies to the Pomeroon/Supenaam Region via boats from Georgetown. Since this arrangement has been halted, however, truckers are thus sent to transport the commodity via land.

He added, “We are accustomed to having a boat bringing in cement to Essequibo at a reasonable cost, especially the TCL cement. But since the cement is not coming as frequently as it used to, we now have to be sending trucks, because the boats have been away for one month now… and it is very expensive to transport cement via truck.

According to the businessman, there is also an inconsistency in the ferrying of stone to the Region. “We had a shortage of stone from the main suppliers, only three days ago the pontoon came to Essequibo coast, this adds to the cost to consumers.”

The CEO of Go-Invest recommended that business owners acquire their own barge, in an effort to reduce the cost of transporting cement to the Region. There were no indications, however, as to whether government can provide the necessary incentives, to make the acquisition a reality.