The United States Export-Import (EXIM) Bank is expected to support the financing for the second phase of Guyana’s Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project and the country’s Deepwater Port in Berbice, while expanding its involvement in other infrastructure priorities, including housing.
These commitments were discussed at a meeting between President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and EXIM Chairman and President John Jovanovic on Monday in New York, ahead of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
President Ali said the bank will continue to work with the Guyanese Government to complete the massive GTE project in Wales, Region Three. In addition, the bank has signalled its interest in funding the country’s second GTE project.
Speaking on the Deepwater Port, “..EXIM will be part of a structure that will see the investment in this port, the widening of EXIM support and investment in Guyana, now into housing, security, and other areas of national interest and on our transformation agenda,” President Ali said.
The head of state added that the expanded partnership also extends to the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), where US companies are expected to play a role, along with the Lethem Airport development.
“I want to thank you and your team for the exceptional work… that you have been doing, and the partnership that is growing between US, EXIM, Guyana, and our other international stakeholders,” the president expressed.
For his part, Jovanovic said the discussions covered a broad portfolio of projects aimed at taking the US-Guyana partnership to the next level. He said the completion of GTE-1 and continued work on GTE-2 are central to reliable base power generation and foundational to President Ali’s industrialisation agenda for Guyana.
He said EXIM is also part of a broader group of international partners supporting the Deepwater Port and other infrastructure priorities, and highlighted the Affordable Housing Construction Project, being advanced in partnership with US companies, as a direct benefit to everyday Guyanese.
Chairman Jovanovic linked the partnership to the wider US commitment to stability across the Western Hemisphere, noting that Guyana’s continued success reinforces that goal.
“President Ali, your success is Guyana’s success in this regard, and Guyana’s success is our success in terms of bringing about peace, prosperity, stability throughout the Western Hemisphere, and you can be that catalyst for stability,” Jovanovic said.
Both leaders credited their teams with the work carried out in recent months to advance the partnership, with Jovanovic noting President Ali’s consistent, hands-on engagement in pushing the projects forward.