– Project will benefit more than 13,000 residents of Bath community
THE Ministry of Housing and Water has signed a $188M contract at Bath Settlement in Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice) under the Community Road Improvements Project (CRIP), which is intended to bring benefits to more than 13,000 residents of the community.
The project aims at improving access to housing, education, health, and other social infrastructure through the improvement and upgrading of 14 roads in existing housing schemes.
According to Minister of Housing and Water Mr. Irfaan Ali, CRIP will be implemented in 12 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) in Regions 3 (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), 4 (Demerara/Mahaica), 5 (Mahaica/Berbice) and 6 (East Berbice /Corentyne) and caters for the construction of 204 roads in specified areas.
B and J Civil Works was awarded the contract for the roads in Bath – Woodley Park, and  Project Manager Tyronne Comacho, along with Project Coordinator Karen Roopchand, NDC chairman, Cecil Ramdatt, and Region Five Chairman Harrinarine Baldeo signed the contracts in the presence of Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali.
The Minister emphasized that the implementation of the initiative was as a result of extensive consultations with all of the stakeholders, most importantly the members of the communities.
As such, he declared that CRIP is a people’s project, as the stakeholders have worked assiduously and should be involved.
He reminded the residents that the Region has experienced “tremendous development” since 2006, during which time $1B was invested in water, and from 2000-2010 more than $625M was invested in housing infrastructure, while $60M was also spent in upgrading of infrastructure in existing housing schemes.
In addition to this, the Housing Ministry recently launched the core homes project in Bath, where 16 homes were constructed for vulnerable families at a cost of more than $21M, Ali added.
He explained, “Most of these investments would have been concentrated in the new development, but the Government of Guyana is very cognizant of the fact that we need to have equitable development and seeks to ensure that existing communities are also enhanced and developed in a massive way.”
In light of this, CRIP and the Miscellaneous Roads Programme (MRP) were simultaneously launched to address these areas.
Under MRP almost $168M will be expended in Region 5, for which works will be implemented by the Ministry of Public Works.
Minister Ali noted that after the completion of the roads, a Road Maintenance Plan will be handed over to the RDC that would educate the local management on how to effectively and efficiently maintain the infrastructure.

IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT
Continuing, the Housing Minister pointed to the importance of road linkages and development, which he said creates a lot of positive impacts on communities.
He explained: “You can have the best health centre, but if you do not have proper road access then it does not allow you to realize the full potential of that asset, so these roads are very important for a number of reasons.
“I want to assure you that since assuming office this government has worked assiduously with the interest of the people at heart – worked day in and day out, and we developed policies and programmes that will improve the lives of our people across all of the communities in this country.”
In light of this, Ali called on residents to recognize the overall growth and continued investment in the country, which he attributed to the vision and “the vibrancy” of H. E.President Bharrat Jagdeo.
“We must not be ashamed to recognize the transformation that he (President Jagdeo) has brought to this country, indeed he is the architect of modern Guyana, and this government can claim that we have laid the foundation on which modern Guyana can emerge as the strongest country in the Caribbean and Latin America,” he boldly declared.    In Bath, Region 5, 6.8 kilometres or 14 roads will be improved with Double Bituminous Surface Treatment (DBST). The roads will be cleaned, reshaped, and realigned, and new drains will be built where necessary. Three culverts will be rehabilitated and safety features such as signage, road markings, and speed humps on the roads will be put in place. The roads targeted include Bull, First Cross, School, Eddie Lall, Balkisson, Catches, Florist, Masjid, Second Cross, Third Cross Street, Sydney and Cow Dam.
Regional Chairman Harrinarine Baldeo extended his gratitude to the Government of Guyana and to the Ministry of Housing for initiating the “timely” project.
He said “On behalf of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) I want to thank the Ministry for giving us this project and I want to assure them that all things will be put in place to ensure that we sustain it.”