The development of Guyana’s first smart urban centre, ‘Silica City’ is being aggressively pursued by the Ministry of Housing and Water – Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA).

On Wednesday, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Hon. Susan Rodrigues visited the site earmarked for the city’s first phase development within the vicinity of Kuru-Kururu on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. The Minister was accompanied by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Andre Ally; CHPA’s  Chief Development Planner, Ms. Germene Stewart; Director of Projects Mr. Omar Narine, Deputy Director, Mr. Intakab Indarjeet; Deputy Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC), Mr. Michael Hutson and other technical staff.

Minister Rodrigues noted that the inland city, which will complement Georgetown, is designed to address growing climate change risks. The establishment of Silica City was proposed in 2013 by His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali during his tenure as Minister of Housing and Water. It is in keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals, the New Urban Agenda, the Housing Act 36:20 and other guidelines.

“We are aggressively pursuing plans for the construction of Silica City [… and] we are here today to advance the planning and designs for the area so that we can bring this city to an early realization,” the Minister stated.

She added, “Silica city will have in its first phase about 3,000 acres of land but we are starting to do the land clearing for the first 185 acres, which will feature the ‘Innovation Village’ and the first 400 young professional homes.”

The Minister stated that the Ministry has already begun shortlisting persons for the homes. First phase development of the city is also expected to feature a number of commercial and industrial developments, as well as, hospitals. While these plans are in motion, land acquisition for phase two is also in progress through collaborative efforts with GLSC.