GUYANA – Guyana’s Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson and his Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Kenneth Jordan on Monday (August 13) toured the operations of Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) as well as surrounding areas at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, where both the company and the ministry are separately embarked on major development projects.
The various projects which include the construction of a new highway from Ogle on the East Coast to Diamond and re-routing of traffic arrangements to be undertaken by the ministry; and the expansion and diversification of DDL’s operations require some adjustments to previous land use plans to which both the ministry and the company have agreed.
The visit to Diamond follows an earlier meeting last week between the Minister and a team from DDL headed by its chairman, Komal Samaroo, at which the land use issues were discussed and agreed upon in principle. Minister Patterson subsequently reported to Cabinet and DDL’s chairman to the company’s Board of Directors on the outcome of the discussions.
Monday’s visit facilitated on the spot examination of the areas identified for the various projects as well as specific works to be undertaken to improve drainage and reduce traffic congestion and enhance road safety.
Among DDL’s expansion plans are the construction of a new packaging facility and new headquarters building; the establishment of a solar farm for energy generation and the relocation of its Topco juice plant.
Monday’s discussions also addressed, inter alia, issues such as future development of the area when the road from Brazil and a deep water harbor eventually come on stream; the use of liquid natural gas (LNG); and the efficient transport of product for export to ports in the capital, Georgetown.
Both Minister Patterson and Mr. Samaroo indicated their pleasure at “the meeting of the minds” of both the Government and DDL on matters that needed to be addressed and indicated that teams from both sides will immediately begin work on a number of action items agreed upon.
The Minister and Permanent Secretary’s tour included visits to DDL’s bottling plant, warehouse, distillery, Topco juice plant, head office and its Heritage Centre where the visitors were hosted to a working lunch.
