Regional ferry scheduled to begin operations in three months – President
`We are not waiting on everyone. Those who are willing to start an innovative project will go ahead, and the others will join when they are ready’
President Irfaan Ali yesterday said that the regional ferry service which involves Guyana, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago is slated to begin operations within three months.
He provided this update while addressing the opening ceremony of the 12th annual Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) consultation with Caribbean Governors, at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston.
A high-level meeting was held in Trinidad two weeks ago on the proposed regional ferry and all sides agreed on two months for completion of pre-clearance procedures for immigration, customs, and plant quarantine and to make the ferry service a reality as soon as possible.
The ferry will allow the movement of containers and passengers, with the potential to boost trade relations and advance food security efforts.
President Ali said the aim is also to bring on board the regional private sector to implement similar initiatives to enhance areas of supply chain and logistics.
“We have launched the first phase of this. In another two, or three months that ferry will begin operations, and we are hoping that this will instil confidence in the private sector, and for the IDB investors, this is an excellent opportunity to bring a regional consortium together,” the president said.
He also told the gathering that this venture signals the readiness of the three countries to take action to solve shared challenges in the Caribbean region.
According to the head of state, this initiative falls under a joint slogan, which was dubbed ‘the coalition of the willing’.
“We are not waiting on everyone. Those who are willing to start an innovative project will go ahead, and the others will join when they are ready,” he added.
The recent discussions among Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, and Barbados on the ferry was held in Port of Spain.
The Ministry of Public Works in a press statement noted that at the request of the President of Guyana, a high-level officials meeting was convened on Thursday 15th February 2024 in Trinidad at the Ministry of Works and Transport, Trinidad, and Tobago”.
One of the many challenges identified by Heads of Government within Caricom was actualizing the regional objective stated in the Twenty-Five by 2025 Initiative, which is to reduce the regional food bill by 25% by the year
2025, remains the difficulty faced in transporting agricultural goods and people intra-regionally.
It is with this in mind that the meeting was organised.
The meeting highlighted each country’s position and perspective on this issue and each Minister from the respective Caricom states took the opportunity to emphasise their commitment to the process of implementing the transportation system and to resolutely promote regional food security without compromising public
health, security, and safety.
It was determined that the three countries were on the cusp of the formation of a Company to drive the process for the introduction of a regional ferry service. This Company would comprise Directors from each country to facilitate operations.
An inspection of the Galleons Passage in Port of Spain was conducted by ministers and technical officials followed by discussions on the other areas of importance to the proposal for the common transportation system such
as plant quarantine, including Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) matters and immigration, and Customs for the movement of people and goods for trade. A system for preclearance was also proposed for implementation.
It was agreed that a team of technical officials from Trinidad & Tobago will visit Guyana and Barbados to inspect port infrastructure to accommodate the proposed ferry service within the next two weeks.
A target date not exceeding two months was agreed to by all participants to
complete the work of preclearance procedures for immigration, customs, and plant quarantine. The team agreed to work constantly to make the ferry service a reality as soon as possible.
The Guyanese Delegation was led by Public Works Minister Deodat Indar, and included Brian Sears, Chief Plant Protection Officer, Ministry of Agriculture; Stephen Telford, Head of Immigration and Rohan Beekhoo, Comptroller Customs Excise and Trade, Guyana Revenue Authority, according to the release.