Guyana to be part of southern Caribbean ferry route

Last Updated on Friday, 5 January 2024, 12:16 by Denis Chabrol

President Irfaan Ali on Friday announced that Guyana would be part of a ferry service that would link this South American country with sister Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados.

He announced the formation of the company at the signing ceremony for a US$35 million four-lane bridge between Mackenzie and Linden. “Yesterday, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Barbados formed a joint company that would work for the introduction of a ferry system for passenger and cargo between Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Barbados,” he said.

No time frame was announced when a vessel would be put on stream to ply the route.

Transportation has long been identified as a major constraint facing the Caribbean Community’s food and agriculture sector for.

CARICOM has set itself a target of reducing its food import bill by 25 percent by 2025.

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is studying the viability of a ferry service among several countries. There are several ferries serving intra-country and inter-country routes in the region, but none plies the southern Caribbean.