Guyana government mulls ending tariff waiver on cement
Guyana’s Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad, has indicated that TCL Guyana’s (TGI) state-of-the-art cement bagging terminal can adequately supply the cement needs in the Guyana market and therefore “the waiver of the Common External Tariff (CET) can now be lifted.
The CET was waived to allow the importation of extra-regional cement to meet the short fall in supply. The minister, during a tour of the bagging facility on Wednesday, expressed satisfaction at the level of production being conducted at the cement terminal. He said that with 1,400 bags of cement being produced per hour at TGI, the plant can meet the substantial and growing cement demand here.
Speaking with TGI Plant Manager, Mark Bender, Prashad noted that “this is a very modern plant and for TCL to invest US $10 million in the facility means it must have confidence in the economy and in the Government of the day.” “I know that with this kind of investment cement will not be short in Guyana. I know we had problems recently but we are looking forward to the plant providing all the cement we need in Guyana,” Prashad stated.
The Minister also applauded TGI for its environmentally friendly operations, noting that it is commendable that there aren’t any cement emissions during the bagging process. Plant manager Mark Bender affirmed that TCL is committed to ensuring that its cement terminal and packing plant is not harmful to the environment and it will continue to work closely with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that the operation remains safe.
TCL Guyana Inc. is a cement bagging facility, which allows for bulk cement manufactured within the TCL Group to be shipped in specialized bulk carriers to the terminal where it is packaged for distribution throughout Guyana. The terminal receives bulk cement shipped directly from the TCL Group’s plants in Trinidad and Barbados.
For the TCL Group, the terminal represents a significant investment of over US$10 million towards the full support of the overall development plans of Guyana and the Caribbean.
Published under Cement News
