Minister Indar: Maritime industry to drive jobs, wealth creation

Guyana’s maritime sector is entering a period of rapid growth and will play an increasingly critical role in the economy over the next five years, Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar said.

Speaking with Ignite News, Indar noted the sector’s expansion is already contributing to national wealth and job creation.

“So, the maritime sector is now growing and contributing significantly to national wealth. And it’s becoming a much larger contributor to employment of the country’s nationals in this sector. Right. Because as more vessels and more operators come in, more FPSOs (Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading vessels), more drill ships, the PSVs, more of the ocean going vessels, more people are employed,” Indar said.

The minister stressed that prior to the oil discovery, the maritime industry was not a prominent part of Guyana’s economy, but that is changing.

“I see it as one of the sectors that will be modernised, the laws that govern it, and the structure of how we are going to do– because we want to have a port authority here. We would like to see and like to develop and build out a deep water port in Berbice to complement our national vision of having Guyana as a hub, a maritime hub. So in the next five years, it will be exciting for the sector,” Indar said.

The expansion is expected to create new employment opportunities, strengthen local human resource capacity, and provide support for both traditional and emerging sectors.