-US$4M state-of-the-art call centre to be constructed
-Over 6000 jobs to be created
President Donald Ramotar and Qualfon Chief Executive Officer Mike Marrow on Wednesday turned the sod for the construction of the first ever
multimillion-dollar call centre campus site at Providence, East Bank Demerara.
The state-of-the-art campus is expected to create some 6000 jobs over the next five years. This first phase of work is expected to be completed within 12 months. President Ramotar lauded the development as he noted the importance of developing and broadening the economy.
“Government’s task has always been to broaden the economy… today’s event is a major player in broadening the economy and we will continue along this trend,” Ramotar said.
Qualfon CEO Mike Marrow said the facility will provide career opportunities and educational development, noting that ultimately, there will be an accredited university which will offer classes, career guidance and a shared library among other necessary amenities.
According to Marrow, Guyana has ranked number one on Qualfon’s successor’s list, owing to the fact that the people of Guyana are hospitable and effective with the English language. He said Qualfon’s largest market is serving customers in the U.S. and Guyana understands Americans.
Flourishing IT sector
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, who also addressed the ceremony, said Guyana’s information technology sector is rapidly growing and the country has now become a more attractive environment for investment opportunities in this regard.
Singh said while the country’s economy has had some setbacks owing to the poor performance of the sugar industry, there are groups of dominating areas of growth within various sectors of the economy. He said the information technology sector is one such area, noting that major investment opportunities coming into Guyana are as a result of the progress made, while pointing to the multimillion-dollar investment by Qualfon.
Major challenges
The minister said this growth happened at a time when the country has been faced with major challenges on the economic frontier.
“In times such as these, we should recognise that this is an accomplishment that should be celebrated… this is not solely a government accomplishment,” he added.
“The fact that the real output is growing and continues to grow, it is testimony to efforts being made by the private sector and also government’s role in ensuring the environment for investment and growth,” he added.
Dr Singh said in addition to reporting on the results of the growth of the economy, much has been achieved with respect to diversification to the productive base.
