THE National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) has approved the awarding of contracts for the rehabilitation of several roads in Regions Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

This was according to Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, in a post on his Facebook Page.

Patterson said NPTAB approved awards for several roads including Aubrey Barker Road; Titus Street, Agricola; William Street, Kitty; Meadowbank Access Road; Bun Bush Dam and others.

The minister posted a list of all the roads which are slated to be rehabilitated and some of those included Primary School Street, Manchester, Berbice; Semple Street, Sheet Anchor, Berbice; First Cross Street, Section B Grant at Crabwood Creek; Middle Walk Dam Letter Kenny, Berbice; William Street, Kitty; Critchlow Avenue, South Ruimveldt; and others.
A resident of Critchlow Avenue, Edward Cort was elated after hearing that government has decided to rehabilitate the road which runs from Aubrey Barker Road to Cane View.
“They more than need to do it over…this road was in a terrible condition since Noah was a scout,” said Cort, adding that in the past the authorities rehabilitated the road in parts, but it never lasted.

He said sections of the road were so terrible that cars, buses and even bicycles could not maneuver themselves through.

“So this rehabilitation is late but we welcome it… I living here for over 20 years and I feel is time the road get do,” said the resident, who had just returned from changing a part of his car which was damaged because of the condition of the road.

Over in William Street, residents were surprised that Government decided to do work there because the road is in a fairly good condition.

Residents said some parts of the road are bumpy and could do with some repairs, so they welcomed Government’s initiative.

In May, Government, in keeping with its commitment to improve the conditions, under which people operate, injected an additional $2B into the public infrastructure sector for the construction of new roads, bridges and drains.

This is in addition to the installation of highway lights, and completion of the billion-dollar East Coast Road Widening and Improvement Project.
The sum, which complements the $15.5B already received by the Public Infrastructure Ministry for 2019, formed part of a $7.9B supplementary provision approved by the National Assembly.

Of the more than $2B approved for the ministry, $500M will be used for the construction and rehabilitation of roads and drains in urban areas. Minister Patterson told the House that residents in all 10 administrative regions will benefit from this injection. He said the government is pleased with the projects completed.

“The roads that we did in 2015, they are still standing, they are still standing sir. I remember there was something that they use to call ‘elections roads,’ but we don’t have that,” he posited.

Also, to complement the $1.9B that was approved for the construction and rehabilitation of main roads and drains for the Public Infrastructure Ministry, the House approved an additional $150M. It was said that the money would be used to construct and rehabilitate main access roads and drains in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six.