Vice President and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has announced that the PPP-government will move ahead with plans to develop a tech park to support Guyana’s transition into a digital society.
At his press conference last Thursday, Jagdeo said, “When we talk about AI and a digital society, we are talking about using our cheap energy for maybe data centers, we can use that again with an innovation park.”
The Vice President shared that during an engagement with young Guyanese innovators he gave them the opportunity to make their pitch on ideas they have.
“I said to them, why not put forward some ideas like what would you like if you’re talking about incentivizing new technology and innovation, especially in this sector what would you need from the government policy wise and incentive wise and investment wise to do this?” he shared.
He shared that the idea of a tech park was conceived during his presidency. “At that time, AI wasn’t such a big thing but now we may be able to advance the concept of the tech park into like an innovation center an innovation village where the government makes the investment in basic infrastructure.”
He said the government will invest in core infrastructure, similar to its ongoing work at the Foulis industrial site, to create a foundation for tech businesses to operate, train locals, and export services. The tech hub is expected to host companies focused on fintech, artificial intelligence, data services, and other technology-driven sectors. He noted that this will be a part of the PPP’s manifesto.
Further, he spoke about how the project will also support Guyana’s national digital plan, which includes modernizing public services, rolling out digital policing tools, automating health records, and enabling digital banking across the country.
“That’s what we are working towards in the future when we talk about AI and a digital society,” he stated.
