Guyanese President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali commissioned the Guyana-China Friendship Park in Region Three on April 12, marking the completion of a USD10.8mn (GYD$2.27bn) recreational facility funded through a grant from the Chinese government, INews Guyana reported on April 13.
The upgraded park, located at Schoonord on the West Bank Demerara, covers 66,700 square metres and features Chinese-style pavilions, basketball and tennis courts, a children’s activity centre and an open-air theatre space. It was completed in 18 months.
The venue, formerly known as the Joe Vieira Park, has been transformed into a multifunctional space featuring a lotus pond, a pavilion, a football field, jogging areas and a children’s play zone. Additional amenities include an outdoor trampoline and accessible washroom facilities.
President Ali noted that the bonds between the two countries date back 173 years to 1853, when the first batch of Chinese indentured labourers arrived to work on sugar plantations in the then British Guiana. Most of the more than 600 Chinese indentured immigrants who arrived that year were assigned to plantations across Region Three. “It is therefore fitting that this park — a symbol of friendship between Guyana and China — should be located here in West Demerara. For it is on this very soil, watered by the labour and sacrifice of those first indentured souls, that a human thread of connection between our two peoples was first woven,” Ali said.
Chinese Ambassador Yang Yang said the park was conceived as a tribute to Guyana’s 60th anniversary of independence. “Today, this park stands as a tribute of the Chinese Government to Guyana’s 60th anniversary and a celebration of our long-lasting and strong friendship,” she said. Caribbean Today
President Ali also reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to the One China policy, describing it as a central pillar of the country’s foreign relations. The park’s commissioning, he said, adds to a growing list of bilateral initiatives spanning infrastructure, health, agriculture and education.
In January 2022, Guyana and China signed an implementation agreement under the China-Guyana Friendship Initiative to transform the park into a modern recreational space, similar in function to the National Park in Georgetown.
At the ceremony, President Ali also announced future plans for a national stadium in Region Three, a private-sector-led housing development and a municipal airport similar to the one at Ogle