Any state initiative in the bottled water sector should be structured to strengthen, not compete with or undermine, existing private investment, the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) said on Tuesday as it raised concerns over the government’s planned state-owned bottled water facility.
The statement follows the National Assembly’s approval of $496.3 million for a bottled water plant to be operated by Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).
The GMSA said it supports the government’s goal of achieving 100 per cent locally produced bottled water and remains committed to that objective.
However, it argued that several local manufacturers have already invested heavily in production, distribution networks and job creation, and any government intervention should complement rather than compete with those businesses.
The association recalled that President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali had earlier called for close collaboration between the government and the private sector, including shared production infrastructure such as bottle manufacturing, to reduce costs across the industry.
It urged GWI and the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation to heed the president’s call and develop the project as a partnership that expands industry capacity and lowers production costs, rather than creating what it described as a taxpayer-funded competitor to existing manufacturers.
The GMSA warned that direct state participation in a market already served by private companies could discourage future investment, create uncertainty for businesses and undermine the government’s wider objective of private sector-led growth.
The association also said GWI’s primary responsibility should remain the delivery of safe and reliable potable water to households, adding that any commercial venture should not detract from that mandate.
The GMSA called on the government to review the proposed investment and hold further consultations with local bottled water manufacturers and other stakeholders before moving ahead, saying it was prepared to work with GWI and the ministry to develop an approach that benefits both consumers and the private sector.
