Advertisments are out for the sale of bid documents, a preparatory requirement leading up to awarding of the contract for the extending of the existing four-lane highway on the East Bank of Demerara. Interested persons have until 09:00hrs on June 28, the deadline, to submit their tender documents, which will be opened immediately after, Transport and Planning Officer in the Ministry of Works, Mr Rabindranauth Chandarpaul said earlier this week.
The US$22M project, of which US$20M, is through a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the remaining US$2M, a contribution from the Government of Guyana, stretches from New Providence to Grove, and is divided into three lots.
Lot 1 will be from New Providence to Prospect in the vicinity of the Guyana Water Inc. installation; Lot 2 from Prospect to Diamond, near the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) plant; and Lot 3 from DDL to the Diamond Grove intersection, Chandarpaul explained.
On account of the magnitude of the project works, he envisages that an evaluation of the tender documents will take about four weeks, which will include receiving “no objections” from the Tender Board, Cabinet and the IDB.
Chandarpaul said once a contractor or contractors have been selected, and before the contract document is signed, a tripartite negotiation stage involving the Government of Guyana, the client and the contractor, to discuss the content of the contract, would be entertained.
This period, which could be between two and three weeks, will allow for the contractor to ask questions and seek clarifications before concretising the deal.
Meanwhile, in an effort to help minimize delays during the project, a four-lane stakeholder committee comprising representatives of owners of roadside businesses, agencies, residents, and the minibus association was established.
Plans are in train to convene regular statutory meetings involving representatives of the contractors, project supervisors and IDB representatives, once the project gets off the ground, when issues such as modifications and any identified mistakes would be ventilated and addressed so as to minimise hiccups during the execution phase.
The highway extension works, which includes the construction of bridges and culverts, will cater for parking and bicycle lanes, as well as pedestrian crossings and bus stops that would increase safety and significantly reduce disruption of the traffic flow.
The current four-lane thoroughfare stretches from Ruimveldt in Georgetown and ends at New Providence.