Guyana’s Chief Investment Officer, Dr Peter Ramsaroop believes the multi-billion dollar Gas-to-Energy Project must be completed within the new timelines set, warning that further delays in the project that promises to bring down the cost of electricity by 50%, could stall potential investments.

The Head of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) addressed the issue during his appearance on SOURCES last Sunday.

Having faced multiple delays, the Gas-to-Energy Project at Wales is now scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026, but the 300 megawatt Power Plant which forms a critical part of the project, will not be able to operate at its full capacity until mid-2027.

Dr Ramsaroop said like many other Guyanese, he is “not pleased with the timeline being pushed back”, but he admitted that one has to be cognizant of the challenges that the project has faced during its initial stages.

“I have got investors out there waiting just for that power plant to turn on because with that we will get the fertilizer plant, with that we will get refined sugar plant; we will get many different manufacturing. There is a cement plant even being developed in Guyana right now, there is potential of a glass factory. All of all waiting on this cheaper energy,” MP Ramsaroop said.

He said while Guyana is rich with natural resources, it has lagged behind in the area of manufacturing, primarily due to the high cost of electricity.

The Irfaan Ali Administration, Dr. Ramsaroop said, has taken steps to address the issue, with the Gas-to-Energy project being among the solutions.

However, the Chief Investment Officer said as Guyana continues to attract investments, it is important for the project to be completed and fully operationalized.

“We have got gold, we have got bauxite that could turn to alumina once we get cheaper energy, we get silica sand that can turn to gas, all these agricultural products that when you go into the supermarkets, people are still buying pineapples in a can from Dole when we have all these beautiful, sweetest pineapples in the world right here in Guyana but a lot of us don’t want to cut it up anymore. So, now you go and you find that the onions are cut up, the bora is cut up, the ochro is cut up. So, ultimately, we are moving to more value added and the money is in the value added products, and required that is the cheaper energy,” the country’s Chief Investment Officer said.

However, he said while the project is important, the Government is also placing tremendous emphasis on renewable energy to meet the energy demands.

Initially, the US$759 million Power Plant and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) Pant Project at Wales was scheduled to be completed by December 2024, however, the Government was forced to change the completion date multiple times.

At present, the flagship project is far advanced.

In October 2024, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited completed the gas pipeline at a cost of US$1 Billion. The pipeline will transport the gas from Liza Field to the Power Plant and NGL facility at Wales.

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