CABINET has reportedly approved slight increases in tolls for motorcycles and cars to cross the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), a top official at the Ministry of Public Infrastructure has confirmed.

Guyana Chronicle was told that the proposal was submitted earlier this year by General Manager of the DHB Corporation, Rawlston Adams, and Government recently approved the increase. Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson, was quoted earlier this year acknowledging that the proposal was with Cabinet, and that, if approved, DHBC would make fewer requests for funds to execute capital works.
Writing in an OP-ED in the Guyana Chronicle, Director of Public Information, Imran Khan, said that motorcyclists, who now pay “a mere $20, would pay $40; while motor car drivers will now pay $200, instead of the $100 they currently pay.

Khan said there is no proposed increase for minibuses and SUVs, which currently pay $200. “The increases proposed are marginal, and with the affordability to users firmly in mind. These increases, while not onerous by any means, and while immensely favourable to the tolls charged at the Berbice Bridge, will significantly aid in ensuring that the DHB is not dependent on the national treasury for survival,” Khan wrote.

He said the increases will, in fact, provide relief to the taxpayers of Guyana, who will no longer be asked to so heavily subsidize the operations of the DHB, an entity that is so critical to the lives of many who live in Regions 2, 3, and 7, who use the bridge daily or frequently for work, school, business and trade. These nominal increases, he said, are in fact long overdue.

Khan also mentioned that the Demerara Harbour Bridge as currently exists is well over its intended shelf life. He noted that it has been kept going through intense monitoring, renovations, and a considerable amount of finances injected into its operation from the public purse.

“A feasibility study is ongoing for the construction of a new, modern bridge across the Demerara river, to serve the residents of Regions 2, 3, 4, and 7, who are the principal users. The Demerara Harbour Bridge was commissioned with a lifespan of 25 years, but through repairs and upgrades, this has since been extended by 13 years”, Khan explained.

He disclosed that in the five years between 2010 and 2015, some $2.2B were pumped into the DHBC as subsidy from Government.

Back in January, the DHBC General Manager, Adams, had reported that some 9,000 vehicles transited the DHB daily in 2015, a 4.8 per cent increase from the previous year; but, overall, income earned by the bridge in 2015 declined.

The Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) has reported that while $481M were garnered in revenue from vehicular traffic — an increase of 4.2 per cent over the 2014 revenue — overall, income dipped from $533M in 2014 to $519M in 2015.
According to DHB General Manager Rawlston Adams, “Overall, revenues went down because of contractual works that we do with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure”.

Floating at 1.25 miles, the bridge is a strategic link between the eastern and western banks of the Demerara River. When opened in July 1978, the structure was expected to last for only 10 years; but, 37 years later, it is still there.