With the Government still awaiting word from the US Export-Import Bank on its loan request to support the multi-billion dollar gas-to-shore project, it is moving ahead with the project and has now invested more than US$400 Million in the project so far, according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.

“We have from our own resources, because of the delay in the loan, we have from our own resources paid US$400 Million, so more than half of the project from our own own resources. The aim was to borrow about US$650 Million from ExIm Bank, and we had US$100 Million in the first year as the advance payment and to borrow the rest from ExIm Bank, about US$660M. We have from our own resources. So that is even better for us”, he said.

The Vice President said based on the structure of the loan agreement that the Government is hoping to ink with the US ExIm Bank, it could be reimbursed for the money it would have invested in the project as it waited on the loan approval. He said the project will be completed.

“The project will be done, even if it means carrying it from our own budget. The country should even be happy with this, that we manage to carry that from our own budget and still do all the other developments we have been telling you about”, Jagdeo told reporters.

The US ExIm Bank has not provided any information about its approval process for the Guyana loan.

The gas-to-energy project is expected to be completed by the second half of 2025. It has been facing a number of delays.

This year, the National Assembly approved $80 Billion from the National Budget to advance infrastructural works on the project, including upgrades to transmission and distribution lines. 

Once completed, the project is expected to reduce electricity costs and add approximately 250 megawatts of energy to the national grid.

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