Official company documents have confirmed that Jiayi Su, daughter of Chinese businessman Su Zhirong, is the majority shareholder of Tropical Construction and Building Supplies Inc., a civil contractor awarded a key role in Guyana’s US$2 billion Gas-to-Energy project at Wales.
Share Certificate Number 01, stamped by the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority of Demerara on June 3, 2025, certifies that Jiayi Su holds 510,000 ordinary shares in the corporation.
Su Zhirong rose to national and international notoriety following the 2022 VICE News investigation “Guyana For Sale,” in which undercover footage captured him claiming he could secure state contracts and land concessions through his proximity to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. In the footage, Su described a system of “service fees” paid to facilitate government approvals, asserting that the bulk of payments went to the “boss.” Jagdeo later acknowledged that Su was a tenant in one of his properties but denied knowledge of his activities.
Sources close to the Gas-to-Energy project told this publication that Tropical Construction was not included in the original bid documents presented to the GTE Task Force and was not part of the initial technical evaluations. The company was instead awarded civil works directly by primary contractors Lindsayca-CH4 as a subcontractor, bypassing public procurement oversight entirely.
Insiders at the Wales site report that the project’s pace slowed significantly after Tropical Construction was brought on board, yet payments continued uninterrupted. The civil works component is currently cited as a primary driver of the project’s delays and cost overruns. Despite this, Tropical Construction has reportedly faced no financial penalties.
Vice President Jagdeo, who previously positioned himself as the country’s lead energy figure, has not commented publicly on the matter. The GTE Task Force is headed by consultant Winston Brassington.
SOURCE: Kaieteur News, VP Jagdeo ex-tenant Mr. Su’s daughter bags major contract for Wales gas project, April 26, 2026
