September 8, 2020

Timing is Everything!

With ExxonMobil announcing its 18th oil well discovery, the seemingly well-timed development of Maraiko Bay Golf & Country Club, US$1.4B megaproject in Guyana by CIMGRO is now poised to capitalize on the demand that is expected to increase in the country.

The company announced they were adding the reputable Guyanese law firm Poonai & Poonai that has years of experience to their legal team. “This is in keeping with our goal to engage local talent wherever possible and to ensure that first consideration goes to Guyanese companies who can deliver the standards and quality our clients expect,” said Chairman Ragindra Persaud.

The latest national budget by the new government provides incredible support for the project with Vice President Jagdeo and President Ali revealing removal of VAT on education, building materials, healthcare and hospitality.

With the final stages of engineering being undertaken, the construction phase at Maraiko Bay, where hundreds of initial jobs will materialize, will soon follow as the company plans on beginning construction of homes simultaneously with the infrastructure development.

Keeping with proposals made by former President Dr. Bharat Jagdeo in 2007, CIMGRO’s Environment & Sustainability Advisor EAME is co-ordinating the delivery of a robust package of environmental initiatives that will ensure the development meets Guyana’s Green State Development strategy as a minimum, also ensuring an environmentally and socially responsible development that will set a bench-mark for sustainable development in Guyana.

“Such measures will include renewable energy  provision, rainwater, ecosystem enhancement, waste minimisation strategies and wastewater treatment,” according to Steve Rowan,  Managing Director of EAME.

CIMGRO has opened discussions with SMA Solar Technology AG, one of the world’s most recognized providers of inverters and photovoltaics solutions and Shire Oak International to design the energy plan for Maraiko Bay, one that will see the development function on renewable energy and reduce energy cost for its homeowners.

Both of these companies are leaders in the renewable  energy industry and have successfully designed and built energy solutions for major projects around the world. They welcomed this new challenge to provide a complete solar solution for this magnificent development.

The company’s Chairman Ragindra Persaud emphasized that Dr. Jagdeo was always adamant about the ability of Guyanese to capitalize on local content dollars, stating that more money could be realized from providing services to the emerging oil market.

“We have made it clear in the meetings with ExxonMobil that we want them to do well, but Guyanese must share this prosperity. It is not sustainable otherwise, and we will insist that happens. There are several areas we have identified that have serious shortcomings which, in the near term or medium term, can bring enormous benefits to our people, and ExxonMobil has to treat these areas seriously,” the Vice President stated on August 17, 2020.

The goals of the developers may seem aggressive with plans to complete Phase I within 14 months but as was explained by COO Rudy Ramalingum, “we have sat back and watched millions of local content dollars being drained from our country’s economy over the past five years due to lack of a community such as Maraiko Bay, one that provides top quality housing, entertainment, services, healthcare and education.

These vast sums of monies have gone to Barbados, Trinidad and even back to Houston as Guyanese pay for the oil & gas families to live in other countries. Had the project commenced on schedule as planned, we wouldn’t be laying off trained hospitality and tourism workers but instead ramping up hiring in these vital industries, areas that First Lady Arya Ali vigorously supports.”

As seen from the masterplan, CIMGRO intends to live up to its motto “Live, Work, & Play at Maraiko Bay” by providing every aspect of sustainable lifestyle and amenities such as the marina, championship PGA-standard golf course, world-class hospital, International school and shopping for everyone.

The school will be set on its own 12-acre campus and designed to mirror top facilities worldwide and the hospital will have special theaters to cater for every type of incident, including a chemical burn ward

“The emphasis over the next few months will be ensuring that our sea defense plan is put into motion, our infrastructure construction starts and we complete our agreements to ensure that we can deliver as promised.

The initial phase of construction is designed to be accomplished using the highest quality modular construction methods to guarantee that we maintain top standards and workmanship. We fully understand the limitations we face in terms of skilled workers so the intent is to eliminate as many mistakes and create a system that can be duplicated with ease and in the shortest time possible,” said Mr. Persaud.

With a firm timeline in place, the company now plans to start the process of selection of partners by reaching out to local architects, engineers, contractors and suppliers and asks that interested parties contact them at enquiry@cimgro.com or call 644-3118 to register.

Strong interest has been shown by companies in neighboring Trinidad and Suriname to participate in this magnificent development but it is the goal of the developers to seek local companies who have the ability to deliver the quality expected for its clients.

The company plans on releasing the remainder of lots/homes in Phase I for local and international clients in the coming days and will notify the public via social media and local advertisements of the procedure to reserve their own piece of paradise.

For more information on the Mariko Bay project, you can call 592 617 9604; 917 781 0560 or visit them on www.cimgro.com.