$130M contract signed for Hinterland Green Enterprise centre -‘We will be offering the bush MBA,’ Allicock says
Guyana’s first Hinterland Green Enterprise Development Centre to be built in the North Rupununi, Region Nine is one step closer to realisation as the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs and the JR Ranch Construction Incorporated on Friday signed a $130 million contract for the institute’s construction.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) report, at the signing ceremony at the Bina Hill Institute, Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock said that the project’s overarching goal is to support the transition of a ‘green economy’ by utilising indigenous and traditional knowledge to develop and document sustainable business practices for use in enterprises across Guyana.
The institute, Allicock said, will deliver a curriculum in Sustainable Enterprise Leadership and an Enterprise Support Unit. “We will be offering ‘the bush MBA’- twoyear hands-on course in enterprise design and start-up, management, sustainability, and leadership, coupled with access to business support services.”
The minister further said that the North Rupununi was chosen because it has the highest density of protected areas in Guyana.
Additionally, the location allows the proposed centre to influence the knowledge and technical expertise available at the Iwokrama Rainforest Centre. It is also a proposed area of community conservation, DPI said.
Located at the Bina Hill Institute, Annai Central, the 20,000 sq ft two-storey concrete and wooden structure will comprise eight classrooms, a modern computer and science laboratory and a large auditorium and lecture room. The project is expected to be completed within 12 months, with a defects liability period of six months. The official commencement date is June 22nd.