Contract awarded for Timehri access road preparatory works
PREPARATORY works on the new access road to Timehri, East Bank Demerara, from the Ricks and Sari turn to Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), have probably started already, Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon disclosed on Thursday. The route is to be upgraded to a four-lane thoroughfare and the contractors have been identified, he told his weekly post-Cabinet media briefing at Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown.
Luncheon said Cabinet offered its ‘no objection’ to the $20.9M contract that was awarded for the ongoing preparations, which will include the line cutting, establishing the size and width of the road and the expansion of what currently exists.
On completion of those aspects, the contractors will then move into the more formidable component of putting down the foundation and extending what is there from a two-lane to a four-lane, he informed.
The Government is to begin advertising, on April 2, for tenders to undertake the construction of the proposed extension, from Providence to Grove on East Bank Demerara, Transport and Planning Officer in the Ministry of Works, Mr. Rabindranauth Chandarpal told the Guyana Chronicle in a telephone interview recently.
He said a design report for the road was completed and submitted last February 14 and funding for the US$22M project is through a US$20M loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and a US$2M contribution from the Government of Guyana.
Chandarpal, said, however, that, on account of the project being of such magnitude, the mandatory review process will be substantial, including a perusal of aspects of the drawing, such as the specifications and design methodology.
He explained that a key part of the undertaking is an environmental and social management plan, which details how to minimise problems associated with the venture, like the need for dust reduction, public interaction and sensitisation, the necessity for traffic diversion through villages to alleviate any build-up and the upgrading of other roads along the way.
Chandarpal had, earlier, said that, while the execution of the job is straightforward, the environmental component can result in delays.
But, in an effort to help minimise those, a four-lane stakeholder committee, comprising representatives of owners of roadside businesses, agencies, residents and the mini-bus association has been established.
The group, comprising about 20 persons, has held its first meeting and will meet regularly, once the works get off the ground.
The extension from Providence to Grove will cater for parking and bicycle lanes, pedestrian crossings and bus stops that would increase safety and reduce disruption of the traffic flow.
The existing four-lane thoroughfare begins at Ruimveldt in Georgetown and ends at Providence.
Meanwhile, Luncheon said, in the agricultural sector, Cabinet also offered its ‘no objection’ to a G$21.8M contract for the supply of Kobelco Hydraulic Excavator spare parts intended for the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA). Another, for G$15.07M, was awarded for spares for the Doosan Hydraulic excavators, also intended for NDIA.
A contract for the acquisition of agricultural equipment for Amerindian Communities in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo), to the tune of G$36.04M, was also awarded, he reported. 
In the education sector, a G$29.9M was awarded for the construction of a teachers’ house for a primary school at Kamarang in Upper Mazaruni (Region Seven) and, otherwise, one for G$26.5M for the purchase of tools and equipment for the Guyana Fire Service (GFS).