… Jamaica, T&T, local companies show interest
Deadline for the submission of bid documents for the contract to extend the existing four-lane highway on the East Bank of Demerara, closed at 09:00hrs yesterday.
And, when the bids were opened immediately after, two Jamaica-based companies, Surrey Paving & Aggregrate Company, and Y.T. Seaton & Associates of Jamaica, along with DIPCON, a Trinidad company well known in the Guyanese environment, are among the six bidders. The three local bidders are General Earth Movers and Guyco Construction; B.K. International; and R. Bassoo & Sons, in association with B &J Construction.
The US$22M project is divided into three Lots with Lot 1 beginning at New Providence and ending at Prospect Village,  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.
The project has attracted a US$20M loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with the remaining US$2M being contributed by Government of Guyana.
A three to four-week period of evaluation will follow yesterday’s opening of the tender documents, and will also allow for the Tender Board, Cabinet and the IDB, to offer their “no objection”.
Transport and Planning Officer in the Ministry of Works, Mr Rabindranauth Chandarpaul, in an earlier report, had stated that once the Tender Board, IDB and Cabinet have offered their ‘no objections’  on the selection of the contractor/contractors, a tripartite negotiation stage between the Government of Guyana, the client and the contractor, would be held to allow for discussions on  the content of the contract, for  the contractor to query and seek clarification on any aspect before the deal is concretised.
Cognisant that the roadway where the project will be undertaken is the main and only thoroughfare from Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, efforts are being made to, as much as possible, minimise delays in the movement of traffic and people, Chandarpaul had said.
To this end, a four-lane stakeholder committee comprising representatives of owners of roadside businesses, agencies, residents, and the minibus association has been established, with the aim to having the committee convene regular statutory meetings involving representatives of the contractors, project supervisors and IDB representatives, once the project gets off the ground.
These discussions will allow for the ventilation of issues such as modifications, or identified mistakes so they can be addressed in the fastest possible time.
The highway extension works will include the construction of bridges and culverts, vehicle parking, bicycle lanes, pedestrian crossings and bus stops, in an effort to 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.