THE East Bank Demerara four-lane road expansion project is said to be currently making immense progress since the constraints have been removed.

A progress report from the Ministry of Public Works has detailed that overall progress for provisional sums and contingencies stands at 48%, 56% and 40% for Lots 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

The report also said that GT&T has mobilized, and is currently relocating its poles from the path of the road works; and contractors on Lots 1 and 2, who had indicated difficulty in acquiring aggregate (stone materials used for building the road) locally, are exploring the option of importing materials to avoid further delaying the project.

Moreover, the Government of Guyana has received financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for rehabilitating and expanding certain transport infrastructure on the East Bank Demerara (EBD) Public Road from Providence to Diamond.

The overall objectives of this project are: (a) to provide a four-lane road (from the existing two lanes) to improve access between Georgetown and Diamond village on the East Bank of Demerara; (b) to stimulate development and economic growth along the lower East Bank Demerara by improving transport mobility and capabilities, and standards of the local road construction industry; (c) to improve road use satisfaction, enlarge the pool of construction skills in the country, reduce transport and logistics’ costs, and to reduce future road maintenance costs and traffic accidents; and (d) lastly, to enhance employment opportunities. (Shivanie Sugrim)