-as consultations for expansion of East Bank road continue
GOVERNMENT will be investing US $22M, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) toward the four-lane expansion of the East Bank Demerara road from Providence to the southern end of Diamond. As government continues to heavily invest in infrastructure across the country, project officials from the Ministry of Public Works and Communications’ Works Services Group, IDB Consultant and Project Representative met again with residents of the East Bank corridor and stakeholders at Diamond Secondary School to discuss concerns resulting from expansion works to the roadways from Providence to Diamond Housing Scheme junction.       
Further, the overall objectives of the SEP will cover a number of aspects including: technical assistance to the Executing Agency (Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MPWC) in identifying critical areas, which require interfacing with stakeholders during project development, implementation and evaluation; suitable methodologies for achieving the stakeholder engagement; stakeholders and the Executing Agency (MPWC), and parties that it may contract; support the IDB Project Manager and Safeguard Committee with tracking and verifying that stakeholder engagement and socio-environmental safeguards are being met and pilot an approach to participatory management of infrastructural projects that could be applied in future IDB-GoG loans.
Mangal also stated that “through the SEP, the public has a means of verifying for itself that the project is meeting its stated objectives”, particularly where these objectives have direct socio-economic and environmental impact on the welfare of the intended beneficiaries.
Even though this is not the first meeting of its kind, officials heard recurring concerns such as; noise and dust pollution, safety measures that will be in place for pedestrians ( both during and after rehabilitative works), and the construction of a second entrance for the Diamond Housing Scheme with an amenity area.         
To this end, government has already secured the land that will be used to construct a two-lane road linking first street Diamond to an area between TOPCO factory and the GUYOIL gas station on the East Bank, which will serve as a second entrance into the Diamond Housing Scheme, and will see the traffic congestion which occurs at peak hours reduced considerably.  According to a document made available to Government Information Agency (GINA) by Mangal, in July 2010, Mott MacDonald/SRKN’gineering (MMS) was contracted under funding from a loan to produce a Feasibility Study, Detailed Designs, and an Environmental and Social Management Plan for the expansion of the EBDR into four lanes from Providence to the southern boundary of Grove.
However, given the narrowness and multiple commercial and civic uses of the EBDR section in Grove, MMS was asked to consider an alternative to a four-lane road through Grove.
“MMS considered a second option (Grove Option 2), which was a two-lane road from the Grove-Diamond Housing Scheme entrance trending south and relatively parallel to the existing EBDR and rejoining the EBDR at the Craig-New Hope boundary. MMS also looked at ways of improving safety and design of the existing four-lane section of the EBDR from La Penitence to Providence”.
The document also stated that, in August 2010, “in order to fulfill the standard requirements of applicable IDB safeguard policies, the IDB contracted a Social Specialist to conduct an initial site and stakeholder assessment, produce an Initial Consultation Plan, implement the plan, provide feedback to the designers and project developers on critical issues, provide feedback to stakeholders on how their input was being considered, and prepare a draft Social Engagement Plan for the development, construction, and implementation phases of the project.
In August-September 2010, participatory assessments and consultations with stakeholders were conducted nationally and in the project site from Providence to New Hope.
In addition consultations on lessons learnt were conducted with stakeholders on the existing four-lane section of the EBDR, from Houston to Providence. Feedback was provided to stakeholders at a workshop in December 2010 and members of a Multi-Stakeholder Committee (MSC) were nominated from among the participants to assist with stakeholder engagement during the development, implementation, and operation phases of the project.