Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson and other officials from his ministry met with the Board of Directors of the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI) where they discussed the way forward for the maintenance of the six pontoons the Government of Guyana had budgeted for the year 2019.

In a release the ministry said Minister Patterson outlined three phenomena going forward for the benefit of both the Private Company – BBCI, and the Government of Guyana – for the Guyanese populace. Coming out to of the meeting the following were suggested:

(1) A jack up barge would be put in place

(2) BBCI and Demerara Harbour Bridge Incorporation would be expected to provide an estimated cost and time frame for the commencement of works on the pontoons.

(3) BBCI would examine the question of the risk factor for the operation of the bridge. BBCI and MoPI would then meet within ten days to discuss their findings and/or report on the operations of the aforementioned issues.

Last month Patterson had noted that while the management of the bridge had refused an offer of $120M from the government to carry out repairs to pontoons supporting the bridge, the structure has seen no repairs since 2008. He said too that the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BCCI) “has an unwavering focus – maximisation of financial returns for its shareholders at the expense of the citizens of Guyana.”

His statement had come days after the BBCI said it is “extremely disappointed in the government’s refusal to now meet and present a fair and reasonable offer to purchase the ownership of the bridge” and it noted that this was against the backdrop of Minister Patterson’s previous public statement on the matter. The company said that it has always been the understanding of the BBCI “that it is in the public interest and best business practice for parties delivering a public service who are in dispute to sit down together to seek an amicable resolution to their differences rather than proceed to litigation where there can only be one winner and one loser.”

In 2018, the BBCI announced that it planned to increase fares and in October that year, it published the proposed rates which it said would take effect from November 12, 2018. The sums appeared high for the average road user and Patterson said in July that year when the proposal was first floated by the BBCI, that the proposal was “burdensome” to commuters. “We will ensure that no further hardship from the bridge is passed on to the folks or the citizens of Berbice,” he said at the time.

The fares proposed by the BBCI included fees for cars (G$8,040), pickups (G$14,600), 4WD (G$14,600) and minibuses (G$8,040) among other high rates per trip. On Thursday Patterson fired back at the BCCI’s statement, when he noted that the matter of the APNU+AFC government protecting citizens from the “unconscionable” rates of the BBCI, is in the court, where that company placed it.

Patterson said that while the BCCI is “disappointed” in the government’s stance, what that company has not addressed is the fact that nine months after the government made the sum of G$120M available for the repairs of at least six of the pontoons that support the bridge, the company refused to allow the authorities to proceed with the repairs.

Patterson said that the “good citizens of Regions Five & Six should be aware that the pontoons supporting this bridge have been in the river since at least 2008,” although the recommended maintenance period is every three years. He said that there are 39 pontoons supporting the bridge, and a simple calculation would reveal that if repairs are effected at six per year, it would take almost seven years to repair all the pontoons. “Yes there is a possibility of some pontoons being in the river for 18 years without repairs,” Patterson said.
He said that as the Minister of Public Infrastructure, he remains “laser focused” on the safe and affordable transit of goods and people over the Berbice River. He said too then that he was willing to meet at any time to further discuss the maintenance and repairs of the Berbice Bridge however, although he noted that the legal case is being handled by the Attorney General’s Chambers while financial matters remain under the domain of the Ministry of Finance. “I will not be accused of fiddling while Rome burns,” Patterson said.