President Dr Irfaan Ali has urged Caribbean shipping stakeholders to work with development lenders on a regional plan to attract private investment and accelerate the modernisation of ports.
Addressing the opening of the Caribbean Shipping Association’s (CSA) 56th Annual General Meeting, Conference and Exhibition at the Guyana Marriott Hotel on Monday, Ali said the policy document should outline fiscal incentives, financing arrangements and public-private partnerships to support investment.
He proposed involving the Caribbean Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and IDB Invest.
“We need to come up with a plan that allows private capital to merge with a public good,” President Ali said.
The President linked the need for improved ports to the high cost of moving goods across the Caribbean, warning that these expenses affect both households and businesses.
Citing a May 2026 International Monetary Fund working paper, he said every Caribbean country except Jamaica faces shipping costs above the global average.
“Ultimately, high shipping costs become a cost-of-living problem for our people and a competitiveness problem for our businesses,” he said.
Ali also pointed to ageing infrastructure, referencing a 2018 IDB study which found that most Caribbean ports were at least 50 years old. He said investment had lagged, leaving facilities struggling to meet current demands.
Alongside shipping costs and inadequate infrastructure, he identified limited trade within the Caribbean, climate-related disasters and geopolitical instability as challenges requiring a coordinated regional response.
Turning to Guyana, the President said private investment in shore bases, laydown yards and port facilities along the Demerara River had reached approximately US$1 billion or more over the past four to five years.
He added that the Government is working with Bechtel on the deepwater port and holding discussions with potential financing partners, including US EXIM and the Qatar Investment Authority.
Ali urged industry leaders to bring financing institutions into their discussions and create practical arrangements that can move proposed investments forward.
The conference is being held under the theme “Building a More Connected, Resilient, and Competitive Caribbean” and runs until October 28 at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.
