Guyana-Suriname Chamber set to make pitch for Canawaima Ferry Service

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 November 2024, 20:29 by Writer

The MV Canawaima

The Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce (SGCC) is about to submit a feasibility study to both countries to take over the management and operations of the Canawaima Ferry Service and offer more daily trips across the Corentyne River, SGCC Chairman Dr Vishnu Doerga said Tuesday.

While there are four to six flights between Guyana and Suriname, Mr Doerga said the return airfare of between US$400 and US$600 is not economical compared to the ferry, which has been in operation since 1997, that could move 22 vehicles on a single trip. At the same time, he said 100 to 200 persons are travelling via backtrack. “You don’t want to put people at risk as well of having to cross in that manner but you have to think about it. Why do they do so? They do so because of convenience. They can do it anytime during the day,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.

With the Suriname government having already listed the Canawaima Ferry Service as one of 70 state-owned entities that is up for divestment, Mr Doerga said the Chamber or a consortium of its members could take over the service and serve the public efficiently. He said Guyana’s online ferry booking system could be introduced in Suriname as part of the private sector-led takeover. “From what I’m seeing, it would be in better hands of the private sector—Suriname/Guyana Chamber or a group of companies—to manage the facility where the government facilitates by providing the customs and immigration services and we handle the quick and efficient movement of goods and people by ensuring that the ferry is always operating optimally with all the engines working and exactly on schedule as predicted and then we just ramp up the numbers (trips),” he said.

He said the “biggest barrier” to business between the two neighbouring Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states on the South American continent is the free movement of people. The SGCC Chairman said the plan is to increase the number of round-trips depending on the number of passengers and vehicles. “We are almost closing off our feasibility study and so far, the initial findings are that this ferry could be running five to 10 times per day one-way based on the volume that is existing because many people are leaving the cities at midnight, sleeping in their cars from 4 am and still missing the boat,” Mr Doerga said. The feasibility study, which includes marketing and financial analyses, is being conducted by an SGCC group.

The SGCC Chairman said, depending on what both governments ultimately decide, there could be still be a “bigger role in the current management” by the Chamber or a group of businesses.

If the SGCC members give the nod based on the study and discussions with the two governments, Mr Doerga said revenues should cover running costs such as fuel and maintenance. An inherent advantage, he said, is that one of the Chamber’s members in Guyana is the largest ship repair company in addition to several vessel management companies. “Based on their participation in the feasibility study, I wouldn’t want to drop any numbers but they are comfortable that it can be easily managed and recovered out of the operations of the ferry,” he said.

Although Guyana and Suriname plan to build a bridge across the Corentyne River, the Chamber boss said the two countries should not have to wait at least two years to improve transportation as means boosting business and facilitating free movement of labour between the two emerging petrostates. TotalEnergies recently made a US$10 billion Final Investment Decision to extract oil from offshore Suriname.