Business Minister Dominic Gaskin conducted a site visit to the Lethem Industrial Estate while he was in the border town over the weekend.
Construction of the facility, which is located on the outskirts of Lethem in Region Nine (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo), is right on schedule and, once completed, will be a stimulus for many of the entrepreneurs within Lethem and the wider Region Nine area.
Minister Gaskin, who also has the responsibility for tourism, pointed out that a business incubator is being established to give small businesses an outlet where they can cultivate and acquire enough skills in an enabling environment with the necessary support mechanism.
“The project is likely to be operational by next year, we are pinning a lot of hope on how that estate develops,” Gaskin said.
The goal is that within a year of the establishment, the businesses should be in a position to branch off independently and possibly expand.
The industrial site is expected to be a source of employment for the residents of the town. “When the estate is open, it will take a while to get full occupancy, it’s a long-term project, but businesses that will be opened in that environment will require employees and staff in a variety of levels and we expect that these positions will be taken up by persons from Lethem or by the region, and we expect that the Brazilian market will play a role in the viability of the businesses that are looking to be established,” Minister Gaskin is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying.
The Business Ministry has responsibility for industrial estates at Lethem, Belvedere, Eccles, and Coldingen. The latter two, which have a combined total of 120 developed plots, house close to 60 developed estates providing jobs for about 4000 Guyanese.
The main industries are wood-processing, cement and block-making, food processing, fish processing, furniture manufacturing, metal fabrication and pharmaceuticals.
In the 2016 National Budget, the Government allocated G$212 million for the development and repair of the industrial estates at Belvedere and Lethem.
