THE Ministry of Public Infrastructure through its National Task Force Secretariat has begun the construction of a dumpsite at Kuru Kuru along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway for the proper disposal of those derelict vehicles usually found stacked along roadways.

The approximately $300M venture will serve as a model for similar sites across the country. Head of the Secretariat, Sewnauth Punalall told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that the move is aimed at ridding the environment of these encumbrances and disposing of them in an environmentally-friendly manner. “Very frequently we have machinery dumped by the roadside or other places and the few landfill sites which are in Guyana aren’t built to take on this kind of waste. So, in 2017 we embarked on this project and it is still ongoing at the moment to have derelict vehicles disposed of in a cost-effective way,” Punalall explained.

To date, some drainage works around the compound and the paving of the access road leading to the site with crusher run were completed. Most of the heavy-duty bridges and culverts have also been constructed. Punalall said other works are wrapping up. “The fencing would have to be completed, we have to put on the security lights, there’s a guard hut to be built and after that, it should be up and running.”

The project should conclude within another two months. In the interim, Punalall is urging owners of these trailers and vehicles to avoid leaving them along the roadways. Some of the areas overburdened with agricultural machinery and other discarded vehicles are those along the East Coast Demerara (ECD), Crabwood Creek and New Amsterdam. Last month, in an effort to improve safety while reducing damage to government reserves, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure had embarked on a project to remove these vehicles left on roadways. However, several persons have been contending that there is no available place for the proper disposal of the vehicles.