— other mega road projects to be rolled out in 2018

RITES Limited, a company out of India, has been awarded the contract for a detailed project report on the East Bank-East Coast Road Linkage Project (Diamond to Ogle) at the cost of US$1.3M.

Coordinator of the Public Infrastructure Ministry’s Works Services Group Geoffrey Vaughn made the disclosure on Thursday during the ministry’s end-of-year press conference at the Transport Sports Club, Thomas Lands, Georgetown.
The designs and detailed project report on the Diamond to Ogle Road Project is expected to be completed before the end of July 2018, Vaughn told reporters, while noting that “competitive bidding and the selection of a supervisory consultant [are] expected to be completed before the end of June 2018”.

Additionally, competitive bidding and the selection of a civil works contractor are expected to be completed before the end of November 2018.
The awarding of the contract for the feasibility study to be conducted comes months after Finance Minister Winston Jordan inked a loan of US$50 million with the Export-Import Bank of India for the construction of the 20km bypass road from Ogle, on the East Coast of Demerara to Great Diamond, on the East Bank of Demerara.

The bypass is expected to reduce congestion along both corridors and improve travel times on roadways. It will also provide a direct link between communities on the East Bank and the East Coast of Demerara, and improve connectivity to Eugene F Correia International Airport (Ogle Airport).

Currently, there is only one major road that connects the East Bank of Demerara to Georgetown and, the reality of that is massive traffic congestion during peak hours, much to the frustration of commuters.

As such, the new roadway will serve as a corridor for communities on the East Bank of Demerara, including Perseverance, Mocha, Providence, Eccles, Peter’s Hall and Aubrey Barker Road, and provide a bypass around the city which commuters can use to navigate the outer limits of the city, reduce travel time and avoid the traffic jams.

According to the Finance Ministry, the new road link will also result in approximately 1,010 acres of unutilised lands becoming available to create a modern housing scheme, which can support some 2,200 households. Consequently, more lands will be made available to meet the increased demands for residential house lots in Region Four.

“Additionally, about 120 industrial and commercial plots will be available for economic ventures that can facilitate value-added manufacturing activities and create employment opportunities in the new and existing communities within the region,” the Finance Ministry said.

Meanwhile, Vaughn said the East Coast Demerara Road Widening and Improvement Project (Better Hope to Belfield), which commenced last August, is progressing and is expected to continue in 2018.

“The contractor is expected to complete 1.3KM of the roadway up to base level before the end of the month,” he posited, while noting that the relocation of Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) utilities is 30 per cent completed, while the sub-contractor for the structure is conducting trials for materials to be used on the project.

“It is projected that this project will be 75 per cent completed before the end of 2018,” he said, while detailing that the “scope of works that will be done in 2018 will involve the construction of drains, bridges, extension of culverts, widening and upgrade of the existing road, construction of medians, sidewalks, and the installation of traffic lights and street lights.”

Additionally, the construction of the first phase of the Linden-Lethem road is expected to be rolled out in 2018 with funding from the United Kingdom Government through its UK Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF) Programme.

The first phase of the project covers approximately 122.5km of road from Linden to Mabura Hill and the construction of a bridge across the Essequibo River at the Kurupukari River. The Parika to Goshen and the Sheriff-Mandela road projects are also expected to be rolled out in 2018.