GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana government says it has approved the restart of bauxite operations on the Berbice River amid widespread speculation that RUSAL (Russian Aluminium), which shut down its operations six years ago amid an industrial dispute resulting in 132 employees being laid off, is returning to the country.
While Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh did not disclose the name of the company during the presentation of the national budget on Monday night, he told legislators that he blamed the closure on the then-coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) government in 2020 and on job losses.
Singh said that the Irfaan Ali government, a “few days ago,” agreed with the company and “in 2026 the operator will advance work to restore all critical systems so that production can safely and reliably resume”.
Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat later confirmed to the online publication, Demerara Waves Online News that it was in fact RUSAL who had packed up its machinery and other equipment in Aroaima, Upper Berbice after a strike — sparked off by the laying off of more than 100 workers because it could not get duty-free concession on fuel — turned ugly with the blockading of boats and the destruction of property.
The Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GBG&WU) had preferred to see RUSAL leave Guyana rather than remain and abuse workers’ rights.
The closure of RUSAL had also triggered the withdrawal of the German shipping company, Oldendorff Carriers Guyana Inc, which was responsible for transhipping bauxite to stockpile vessels near the Atlantic Ocean for loading onto international cargo ships.
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