The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) expects to begin producing bottled water at a proposed plant in Parfait Harmonie, Region Three, by the first quarter of 2027, according to its Chief Executive Officer, Shaik Baksh.
Speaking at the opening of a GWI water-refilling station at Vergenoegen recently, Baksh said construction of the plant would begin shortly. It is expected to produce GWI-branded water in 500-millilitre and one-litre bottles for distribution across the country at what he described as affordable prices.
“We are opening a water bottling plant, GWI branded,” Baksh said. “This will happen by the first quarter of next year.”
The announcement indicates that GWI is proceeding with the project despite objections from local bottled-water manufacturers and questions about whether the utility should give priority to improving household water supplies. There has been no word if a tender will be put out by GWI for the procurement of a water bottling plant.
The National Assembly approved $496.3 million on July 27 for the proposed plant under GWI’s coastal water-supply services programme, Kiskadee Watch reported. Public Utilities and Aviation Minister Deodat Indar has argued that local production could reduce reliance on imported bottled water and lower prices by avoiding freight, insurance and import-related costs. GWI has estimated that locally treated and bottled water could be sold for around $100 per bottle or less if operating costs are efficiently managed.
The Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association subsequently urged the government to review the proposal. It said local companies had already invested in bottled-water production and distribution, and warned that a state-funded plant could discourage further investment. The association supported the aim of increasing local production but called for consultation and an approach that would work with existing manufacturers. :
President Irfaan Ali rejected calls to abandon the project, saying GWI had a responsibility to make drinking water affordable and was not seeking to compete with local producers. Indar later met private-sector representatives and manufacturers and gave a similar assurance. After further talks, the Private Sector Commission said the parties had agreed to pursue a collaborative approach to reducing bottled-water prices, though no decision to withdraw or alter the proposed GWI plant was announced. Baksh’s statement at Vergenoegen is the clearest indication since those discussions that GWI still intends to build it.
APNU parliamentarian Ganesh Mahipaul has questioned the expenditure while communities continue to report low pressure, unreliable supplies and problems with water quality. He has called for GWI to publish the project’s business case, including its production capacity, operating costs, intended selling price and expected return.
Ali first set out a goal in February for all bottled water consumed in Guyana to be produced locally within a year. At the time, he also suggested working with the private sector on shared production infrastructure. Baksh did not say whether such an arrangement would form part of the Parfait Harmonie project, or give a revised cost or production capacity for the plant.
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