THE relocation of utilities by Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Ltd (GT&T), Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) and Guyana Power & Light (GPL) as well as the termination of Falcon Transportation Inc. contract are the factors hindering the completion, to date, of the four-lane highways on East Coast and East Bank Demerara.

The disclosure was made by Ministry of Public Works and Communications Chief Roads & Bridges Officer, Mr. Ron Rahaman.
In an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, at his Kingston, Georgetown office, he outlined the position with the projects in terms of progress.
Rahaman told this newspaper that the East Bank project commences from Providence and continues to the Diamond intersection and is being done in three phases, where Dipcon Engineering, General Earth Movement Equipment and BK International are contracted.
He said the works that began on November 1, 2011 and are about 66 percent completed, which is between 25 to 30 percent of the whole and will see an additional six months to completion.
Noting the reasons for the delay, Rahaman indicated that the utility companies are redesigning their networks to accommodate the new roadway and, as such, only GT&T is still to finish.
When this is done, the three contractors will move apace towards finishing their work on the East Bank Demerara.
On the East Coast, from Better Hope to Golden Grove, two phases were awarded to Dipcon Engineering and Falcon Transportation but the latter was withdrawn for poor works standard.
Rahaman said after the withdrawal, Dipcon was given the award for that phase and it is estimated that movement of machinery and materials will take place shortly.
He said the study of the project was done by DIWI Engineering Consultants and local contractor Marcel Gaskin & Associated Ltd and funding will have to be sought for the award to see the completion of it.