THE Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI) has informed the public that construction works onthe Lima Sands road, currently in a deplorable state, depend on a new budget.
The country has not had a 2020 budget due to the passage of the December 2018 no-confidence motion and the subsequent elections yet to be concluded.
The Guyana Chronicle recently reported that residents of the Lima Sands community in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), were calling for help to fix their roads which have been eroding and washing away daily.
In response, the MoPI stated in a release on Wednesday: “The ministry would like to state that the construction of this road is dependent on a new budget. Notably, MoPI through its Special Projects Unit (SPU), Works Services Group had constructed an asphalt road on the approach of the thoroughfare back in 2018 to the tune of approximately $100 million. The project undertaken by us covered approximately 2km, whereby the village road stretches for about three miles. This means that attempting to construct this road will exceed the SPU’s yearly budgetary allocation for projects. As a consequence, the regional engineer suggested that the project be tackled in phases to improve the condition of the road. He however cautioned that due to the heavy cost attached to the construction of the road, a tendering process could mean that the project will take a lengthier time before it comes to fruition.”
The project engineer explained that the village road has no real structure and would have to be built entirely from scratch. Furthermore, he advised the ministry not to carry out isolated repairs to the large potholes, as this would be a waste of resources due to the present state of the road being lined with damage.
According to the project engineer, expenditure to fill the potholes can be instead used to construct a new road. Against this backdrop, he recommended that remedial works be done by the local authorities.
He said that he understands that the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Two had carried out some works in the village with crusher-run overlay, also in 2018; this has now deteriorated because of the inclement weather.
Added to this, the MoPI also made it clear that the road constructed by its contractors has not deteriorated.
“The ministry takes this opportunity to correct reports which have been publicised in the past, maliciously stating that the stretch of road constructed by the ministry has become deteriorated. In fact, the section of asphalt road built by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure remains intact,” it stated.
