A new ferry service among Guyana, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago is taking shape and President Dr. Irfaan Ali on Tuesday said it will operate out of Parika, Region Three.
The company responsible for the new ferry service– Cari Cargo Inc – was incorporated in Guyana in March. The venture is touted as a service meant to facilitate the easier movement of goods (particularly food) and people.
As he engaged residents of Bonsika Creek on Tuesday, President Ali said the government is focused on ramping up food production in this community and many others in the region.
The goal, he said, is to produce more of the food demanded across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). This is in keeping with a regional goal of slashing expensive extra-regional food imports by 25 per cent by 2025. To achieve this goal, CARICOM countries agreed to grow more food and increase trade among themselves.
The production of ground provisions, vegetables and fruits set to increase in Bonsika Creek, other Region Three communities and other areas along the Essequibo region. So President Ali said it would be viable to operate the ferry out of the major port nearby, Parika.
“The regional ferry will operate out of Parika so that we can have all of these productions from all of these islands (in the Essequibo River) integrated into the regional market,” the Guyanese Head of State said.
The Galleons Passage, a vessel from the Twin Island Republic, will be used to ply the route, at least initially. In February, President Ali said the vessel would set sail in about three months’ time.
Solving intra-regional transportation woes has been a huge focus of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for years now. With the current revitalised focus on guaranteeing the region’s food security, solving this problem is also in focus.