University of Miami’s Silica City master plan envisages 50,000 residents

Last Updated on Monday, 23 September 2024, 17:16 by Writer

A University of Miami master plan depiction of Silica City.

The evolution of Silica City, a new town that is being proposed on 3,500 acres of land on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, is expected to take up to 50 years and would encompass housing, education, health and commercial facilities that would blend with nature, according to a master plan developed by the University of Miami.

“Obviously, this is not something that’s going to be done in two years. This is something that might take as much as 50 years in order to be realised so the creation of this district would be incremental,” Architecture Professor, Jose Gelabert-Navia said in his presentation of the master plan on the University of Guyana GREEN Institute. Although the project could take half a century, he said it could start with a number of principles as a guide.

Consistent with studies by the Ministry of Housing, during the first four years of development, projections are that there would be almost 2,600 households and 10,000 residents, and 12,000 households and 50,000 residents in 20 years.

President Irfaan Ali reportedly wanted to engage the University of Miami to design the project and, in addition to the involvement of students from that tertiary institution, Professor Gelabert-Navia also engaged the architectural and construction firm, Perkins and Will, of which he is the Latin America regional leader.

Professor Gelabert-Navia

Hoping that Silica City would not turn out to be a “giant suburb”, he said that community would have its own government, system of community engagement and resource allocation. “One of the main drivers is that this does not become a suburb of Georgetown or of Linden but rather becomes a self-sufficient community,” he said.

The professor envisages that the new town would be built with eco-friendly materials, be energy efficient and have a central control of energy as well as several installed charging stations. Initially, residents might commute to Georgetown to work but Professor Gelabert-Navia expects that within five years Silica City would be a “livable community” in which the residents would not have to leave because the amenities for work and other activities would be there.

Now that the master plan has been completed, he could not say what was government’s next step for the Silica City project. “Where it goes from here I don’t know. It will depend on a number of things and it is outside of our control,” he said.

Provision has been made for cricket and soccer fields as well as walking and bike trails. Green initiatives will include nurseries, botanical gardens and urban agriculture.

The master plan report has since been submitted to the Ministry of Housing which had commenced work at the location.

The Guyana Innovation Group has been tasked to attract companies and entities to go to a 250-acre part of Silica City.