On Monday afternoon, sod was turned for the Blue Bridge Inc Hotel that will be constructed at Liliendaal on the East Coast of Demerara which will create around 800 employment opportunities and 1500 indirect opportunities. Phase one of the project will see construction of 150 rooms completed by 2024 and 350 to 500 rooms in the second phase of the project. Assets Director of Blue Bridge Inc Sanket Balgi said the project is expected to be completed and be fully functional between two to three years. President Irfaan Ali who was delivering the feature addresses described the construction of the hotel as a “transformative investment" which will further development on the East Coast Corridor.
"If you look at this area now, or you take a drive around here, you will see an explosion of construction and if you have elementary understanding of the direction the Government is going in, you just have to multiply that maybe a hundred times to get an understanding of what will take place along the East Coast, East Bank Corridor and further afield," the Head of State expressed. President Ali added that there must be changes from the corporate and human resources level to match these investments.
6000 Guyanese are expected to be trained in the hospitality sector in this regard. "By the time these hotels are ready, two to three years down the road, you'll have 6000 persons ready to take up these jobs." Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond reemphasised that Guyana is a place to invest and thanked the investors for putting confidence into Guyana. "Guyana is a place to invest, is the place to be, is the place for doing business. You may know that the tourism sector is also a strategic sector for our government, for the country, we believe that tourism in Guyana is poised to be on an upward trajectory." Additionally, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Office for Investment (GoInvest) Dr. Peter Ramsaroop stressed the importance hotels play in the development of the country. The Blue Bridge Inc Hotel is being constructed by Pasha Global Group that is headquartered in Suriname.
