Americas Quarterly: Can Guyana Beat the Resource Curse?
Americas Quarterly: Can Guyana Beat the Resource Curse?
For the new edition, AS/COA's José Enrique Arrioja reports from Georgetown on policymakers’ efforts to find the right path forward on oil.
GEORGETOWN—If there’s a symbol of both the immense promise and risks of Guyana’s future, it might be the project known as Silica City.
The brainchild of President Irfaan Ali, the goal is to build an entirely new “smart city” in the tropical savannah some 30 miles south of the capital, Georgetown, near the international airport. Close to $10 million in construction contracts were awarded in February 2023; there are plans for an 18-hole golf course, housing for 60,000 people, schools, industrial parks and more. Architects from the University of Miami will help design Silica City’s master plan; investors as far away as Singapore and South Korea have expressed interest. The government says it may take 20 years to finish, but it expects people to start living there as soon as this year.
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