New Guyana Embassy in Brazil completed – Foreign Minister

Marred by massive delays and a flawed contract that had to be terminated and retendered, the new Guyana Embassy in neighbouring Brazil has been completed.

This was revealed by Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd during the consideration of Financial Paper Number Two of 2025, totalling $18.8 billion for advances made from the Contingencies Fund that catered for developmental works countrywide and other initiatives for the period November 18 to December 16, 2025.

Included in that $18.8 billion is a sum of some $237.6 million for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, which came under scrutiny from Opposition Member Ganesh Mahipaul of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in the Committee of Supply.

Defending the allocation, Todd told the House late Friday evening that the money went towards completing the construction of the Embassy in Brasilia. The Foreign Minister said the project had been initiated under the previous APNU+Alliance For Change (AFC) Coalition Administration and was “fundamentally flawed”. He added that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government had taken over and completed the project.

“We inherited a very terrible project, and we went about righting that wrong,” Todd declared. “What we intended to do, Mr Speaker, was to ensure we complete the project so that we can deliver to the people of Guyana a project that, in essence, is complete. So, what we did was to appropriate these funds to complete the offices – the offices of the staff, the Ambassador and the residence of the Ambassador and staff. So, we were able to complete them.”

According to Todd, they are currently in the process of furnishing the building, and the full opening of the embassy is likely to be in April.

Back in November 2019, a contract to the tune of US$4.499 million (G$937.9 million) was awarded for the construction of the New Guyana Embassy, Ambassador’s Residence, and Diplomatic Staff Quarters in Brazil’s capital. This was way below the US$7.370 million engineer’s estimate for the project.

The scope of works comprised the construction of a continuous reinforced concrete and structural steel complex to house a Chancery, Ambassador’s Official Residence, and Diplomats Residence, along with a swimming pool, recreational areas, a tennis court, a grass field, and other site development works, including a car park, ramps, security guard huts, a technical/utility building, and landscaping.

The contract was signed on October 14, 2019, and work commenced two days later with a duration of 18 months. The planned completion date was April 16, 2021, with a defects liability period of six months.

But according to the 2023 Auditor General’s (AG) Report, the contractor had received some G$890.036 million by the end of 2022. The contract was subsequently terminated on January 23, 2023, with an additional US$177,998.22 paid to the contractor.

A July 2024 assessment had revealed that approximately 65 per cent of the permanent works on the main buildings were completed, the report stated.

The Guyana Government had retendered the project to complete the remaining works.