Communities in regions being enhanced with CDB loan
The Ministry of Housing and Water signed a $152M contract on Thursday, that is intended to benefit some 6,900 people living within the Enmore/Hope Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) of Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica), under the Community Road Improvements Project (CRIP). The Government of Guyana has received a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for the project, which is aimed at improving access to housing, education, health and other social infrastructure through the improvement and upgrading of 11 roads in existing housing schemes.
According to Minister of Housing and Water, Mr. Irfaan Ali, the CRIP will be implemented in 12 NDCs in Region 3 (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara),4 (Demerara/Mahaica),5 (Mahaica/Berbice) and 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne), catering for the construction of 204 roadways in specified areas.
Courtney Benn Contracting Services Ltd won the award for the roads in the communities and its senior manager, Mr. Darren Nurse and Project Coordinator, Ms. Karen Roopchand, NDC Chairman, Mr. Jainath Bhikhari affixed their signatures to the deal in the presence of Minister Ali  at the Enmore Community Policing Group Building on East Coast Demerara.
The minister emphasised that the occasion was the result of extensive consultations with all of the stakeholders, most importantly, 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.
Ali reminded the residents, who were present, that there have been tremendous developments in the community already, referring, specifically, to the packaging plant at the Enmore Sugar Estate and the new well in the area.
Comprehensive package
“This is a per capita investment of millions and forms part of the comprehensive package of development in Enmore,” he said.
In addition, Ali noted that the Government of Guyana remains cognisant of not only the economic aspect of such developments but, more importantly, the social aspects.
The enhancement of drainage networks in the community is another vital component of the project and he explained: “In these communities, drainage is very important for the community members to ensure that the roads are protected.”
He said the Government recognises that there needs to be equitable development and, as such, seeks to ensure that existing communities are enhanced and developed in a massive way.
In light of this, CRIP and the Miscellaneous Roads Programme (MRP) were launched simultaneously to address these areas, Ali said.
After the completion of the roads, a Road Maintenance Plan will be handed over to the RDC that will educate the local management on how to effectively and efficiently maintain the infrastructure, he disclosed.
Continuing, the Housing Minister alluded to the importance of road linkages and development, which, he said, create a lot of positive impacts on communities.

Very important
“You can have the best health centre but, if you do not have proper access roads, then it does not allow you to realise the full potential of that asset. So these roads are very important for a number of reasons,” he maintained.
In the Enmore/Hope NDC, 4.5 kilometres of roads will be improved with double bituminous surface treatment or asphaltic concrete in Blossom Scheme, BeeZie, Newtown, Enmore Pasture, Logwood and Enmore North.
The roads will be cleaned, reshaped and realigned and new drains will be built where necessary. In addition, two culverts will be rehabilitated and safety features, such as signage, road markings and speed humps will be put in place on the roads.
NDC Vice-Chairman, Mr. Roopnarine extended his gratitude to the Government and the Ministry of Housing for initiating the “timely” project.
“Thank God for this day. It is a significant step in moving forward and yet another programme that would enhance our lives,” he declared.
Roopchand pointed out that, apart from the rehabilitation of roads in the community, improvement works were also carried out on the buildings that house the offices of NDCs in the targeted areas.