Written by Gabriela Patram
ROAD works along the East Coast of Demerara and the East Bank of Demerara are continuing. This publication visited various work sites along the coast and East Bank area to see how far these projects have gone.

For the road works that are being done along the East Coast of Demerara, that road development consists of six lots, according to Chief Works Officer, Geoffrey Vaughn in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle.
The contract for Lot 1 was terminated and was awarded to Dipcon Engineering by the Government of Guyana. This phase of the project is moving ahead nicely and the works are expected to be completed some time in December 2013.

For Lot two, there some challenges which involve disputes over land, with persons who live there. He noted that this matter is before the courts.
For Lots three and four, the Chief Works Officer said that they are having some issues with Courtney Benn Contracting Service, and he explained that the road works are not moving at the pace the ministry would like; the contract is for only one year, and will end next March. The project is only 12% complete when at this stage it should be 30% complete.
He further stated that they are working with Guyana Power & Light (GPL) and Guyana Telephone and Telephone Company (GT&T) to ensure that utility poles in the way are removed, and thus far there have been no problems in this area.

The final lot is being done by Salba Engineering, from the Mon Repos market to just before the Good Hope bridge. Vaughan said that works are moving ahead and the ministry is happy at the pace, looking forward to a January 2014 completion.
He noted that the works taking place at the moment are the preliminary works before the actual road widening is executed, comprising a four-lane road from Better Hope to Annandale and from Annandale to Belfield.
The 4-lane East Bank Demerara Extension
The four-lane extensions on the East Bank of Demerara have three lots.
Lot one is being done by Dipcon Engineering, and there were some challenges with GT&T power poles; but an agreement has been reached and these will soon be removed.
He observed that the EBD road project should have been completed since April last, but there were some issues.
Work on Lots two and three is expected to commence very soon. The building of a high bridge is a major component of this lot.
Vaughn stated that they are still trying to nail down the actual completion time for these projects, but they should all be done by next year.