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ITS Company Profile

Correia’s Interior Transportation Service or ‘ITS’ as it is preferably called, was born
out of the need to provide a more economical and reliable form of transportation
to support the development of the company’s progressing mining operations in the
Chiti-Go-Keng & Aruwai area. As business progressed, there was need to move
greater volumes of cargo and fuel. However there was no airstrip and the
floatplane was not an economical option. River transportation was the only
economical alternative to flying, and using the muscle and clout of the company,
a viable and dependable river transportation service was introduced and
operations begun in 1996.

Massive infrastructural work had to be done to facilitate this new mode of transport
efficiently. A railway car system was erected on the side of Peaima Mountain
together with the construction of a road to move the cargo with a tractor & trailer;
an elaborate pump system was installed to pump the fuel from one side of the
mountain to the other. These operations lasted until 1999 when the company
switched location and moved the operation to Olive Creek on the Mazaruni River.

With the increased mining activities in the Mazaruni River there was need for
transportation by external entities. Management recognized this and there was the
transition from wooden boats to jet boats. These jet boats were originally designed
mainly for recreational activities but management approached the owners of
Bentz Boats equipped with numbers and dimensions, to design a jet boat to suit
our requirements. As a result we pioneered the use of aluminum-welded jet boats
in a commercial cargo capacity, the first in the world.

The first Jet boat, Triton, was purchased in 1996. The ITS Commercial
department was set up, and an office was also installed at Bartica that catered for
passengers traveling from that location. With increasing dependency on the
service, Neptune and Venus jet boats were purchased in March and December
1998, respectively. The “ghetto” base camp at Baganara Island was set up for the
servicing of the jet boats and the trucks. A 50,000 gallon fuel-farm was installed to
service both the Company’s mining department and for sale to customers. Over
the years, ITS upgraded this facility and a slipway was built by Paul Da Silva for
the boats to be “dry docked” for servicing.

As with any other business the jet boat service has had its fair share of teething
problems. New systems were implemented for accountability and safety, and
today, we have the most reliable, safe and efficient river service in the country.
With the introduction of the Jet boat service, ITS has been able to open up
another beautiful part of our country. ITS is the first company in Guyana to
operate the jet boat service in the interior, these boats have elevated the
standards by which passengers travel in the interior locations of the Mazaruni
riverand the length of time of travel has decreased immensely. From Issano
onwards stops are made along the way. Our 44 feet cargo boats have the capacity
to transport 80 drums of fuel at a time for sales to customers and stocking of the
agents supply and to transport bulk cargo at a cheaper rate for customers.

Simultaneously, ITS was developing their trucking service to Issano. From Bartica
they would operate 2 Bedford British Army Surplus trucks and a surplus German
Army MAN truck. Even though the ITS department is still servicing the Mining
department, over 90% of our business comes from external customers. Our service
operates approximately six times per week.