PARAMARIBO – The state-owned N.V. Grassalco is emerging as the front runner to provide Barbados with the supply of silica sand and stone to ease that country’s shortage in domestic supplies.
A statement posted on the website of the state-owned company, said that a meeting was held last weekend in Barbados with the country’s Senior Minister and Minister of Energy, Business Development and Commerce, Kerrie Symmonds and a visiting delegation from N.V. Grassalco.
Symmonds said that the availability of natural resources is essential for Barbados to carry out infrastructure projects more quickly and on a larger scale.
“When we talk about natural resources in this part of the world, we are also talking about silica sand, stone, and similar materials. These raw materials are crucial for Barbados, as we want to increase the speed and scale of our infrastructure investments.”
Barbados has traditionally relied heavily on locally sourced building materials. However, Symmonds acknowledged that these raw materials are becoming increasingly scarce.
“We all know that we traditionally sourced a large portion of our silica sand and stone materials from Barbados itself. However, these supplies have been significantly reduced. Therefore, we now have to import a large portion of the required materials.”
The search for new suppliers is part of a broader effort to strengthen economic ties with Suriname. Symmonds described Suriname as a ” sister state within CARICOM”. The location of Suriname on the South American continent offers significant opportunities for Barbados.
He also stated that Bridgetown and Paramaribo need to revisit the agreements from the 2018 Brokopondo agreement. Implementation of these agreements has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bilateral agreement includes cooperation in the areas of air and sea transport, tourism, agriculture, and food security, trade, and investments, as well as natural resources and renewable energy.
The Surinamese oil and gas industry and the possibilities in the field of renewable energy can also offer opportunities for further cooperation.
“COVID is behind us now, and we need to put the issues from the Brokopondo agreement back on the agenda.”
According to Symmonds, the talks on Friday offer an opportunity to turn the long-standing relationship between the two CARICOM countries into concrete economic benefits for Barbados.
Grassalco was established in 1971. The name is an abbreviation of Grasshopper Aluminium Company. The mining company is fully owned by the Surinamese government and is engaged in the development of the country’s mineral wealth, including gold and natural stone.
For Grassalco, however, Barbados would not be a new export market. The state-owned
mining company was already doing business with Bridgetown more than ten years ago. In 2015, Grassalco received an order for the delivery of 14 000 tonnes of granite boulders to Barbados, which according to the reports at the time, represented a value of approximately US$700 000 to US$800 000
In 2014, Grassalco worked with the Barbadian company CO Williams on possibilities to export granite blocks and crushed stone from Suriname to the Caribbean. The aim was to find a logistics model whereby ships bringing material to Suriname could transport Surinamese building materials on the return journey. (CMC)
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