This morning, on behalf of His Excellency President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, I met with over 70 persons whose lands / occupation will be affected on the corridor along where the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) transmission cables will be run to transmit electricity generated under the Gas-to-Energy project along the East Coast of Demerara. The first batch of persons are from Goedverwagting to Columbia, Mahaicony. This corridor will extend to as far as No. 53 Village on the Corentyne Coast. The Government intends to compulsory acquire these lands and pay market value in accordance with law. The same process used by the Government for similar exercises in recent times for other national projects shall be utilized. Significantly, the Government assures that every effort will be made to ensure that the process is consultative and fair; that the affected persons receive adequate compensation and that they are accorded all the protective safeguards guaranteed to them by the Constitution and law.
