The UK’s King’s Foundation says it is working on plans for a sister city to Georgetown comprising approximately 30,000 homes, along with offices and schools, and linked to the capital by high-speed transport.
The work here by the charity set up by then Prince Charles in 1990 has raised eyebrows as there has been little discussion locally about the projects. It is unclear where the sister city will be located, what approvals are necessary for it and how it will be funded among other things.
The proposed development is the largest of five projects outlined by the foundation in a video released ahead of King Charles III’s visit to Guyana later this next week. The King and Queen Camilla are expected to be in Guyana on Thursday and Friday.
The other initiatives cover Georgetown’s streets and canals, the Stabroek Market area, historic waterfront buildings and a centre for the Global Biodiversity Alliance.
Describing the sister city as its most ambitious undertaking in Guyana, the foundation said the intention was to establish another centre of activity to address the daily movement of people between residential communities outside Georgetown and the capital.
The video did not identify the type of high-speed transport envisaged, or the development’s estimated timetable. Financing arrangements for the five projects were also not outlined.
The proposals build on the Georgetown Urban Framework Plan, which the foundation has developed with the government and what it said were national and local stakeholders. In a March 9 statement, the foundation said the framework addresses drainage and flood resilience, transport, urban expansion and the protection of historic buildings, within Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.
The foundation had then outlined seven demonstration projects, including a sustainable town called Canal City, redevelopment of the Transport and Harbours Building, improvements to Stabroek Market and regeneration of the Water Street riverfront.
Under the “Healthy Streets” initiative outlined in the video, the foundation is examining Georgetown’s street network alongside its canals, with the aim of making routes more accessible for walking and cycling.
Work under that initiative is already taking place along Thomas Street, between Lamaha and Church streets. Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Priya Manickchand and representatives of the foundation inspected the works on September 30. The ministry described it as the first project under President Irfaan Ali’s Healthy Streets Initiative.
However, Georgetown Mayor Alfred Mentore subsequently told Kiskadee Watch that he regarded the Thomas Street works primarily as a government initiative, despite the foundation’s involvement. He said he was uncertain whether the foundation had contributed financially, while confirming that discussions had taken place between its representatives and the Mayor and City Council.
A second project highlighted in the video focuses on Stabroek Market and its surroundings, which the foundation described as effectively Georgetown’s main square.
The proposals seek to ease congestion and improve trading spaces, including by extending market activity along Water Street. According to the foundation, this would build on the street’s earlier use as a market location while improving the surrounding streets.
A third initiative, called the “Guyana Exchange”, envisages redevelopment of Transport and Harbours buildings into a tourism hub. The foundation described the location as an important historic site that could support the country’s tourism development.
It is also designing a centre for the Global Biodiversity Alliance on the edge of the Botanic Gardens. The proposed sustainable building would showcase Guyanese timber and construction methods.
The emphasis on local materials follows an earlier partnership involving the government, The King’s Foundation and Qatar Foundation’s Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future.
Stabroek News reported in January 2025 that the two-year collaboration included plans for a signature building in Georgetown using Guyanese materials, construction techniques and local expertise, combined with international knowledge. The initiative was presented as a means of demonstrating how cultural and environmental heritage could inform modern construction under the LCDS.
The wider planning process has also involved government agencies and municipal representatives. In November 2025, Stabroek News reported that Manickchand and Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water Vanessa Benn met a foundation delegation headed by its Executive Director of Projects, Ben Bolgar, to discuss the Urban Framework Plan for Greater and Central Georgetown.
Representatives of the Ministry of Public Works, City Hall councillors and engineers, the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission and the Central Housing and Planning Authority attended. The plan was described as encompassing residential development, commercial expansion, highways, green systems and water management.
In its latest video, the foundation said the five projects were being shaped through conversations with the President, government and other local stakeholders about their vision for Guyana’s future.
The update comes ahead of the visit by King Charles, the foundation’s royal founding president. Buckingham Palace has said his Georgetown programme will include engagements concerning biodiversity and conservation, the National Toshaos Council, business and the seawall, before his attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda.
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