FUNDING for the ‘retailored’ Ogle, East Coast Demerara to Diamond, East Bank Demerara, bypass road project, which was delayed for almost seven years, has been approved by the Government of India.
It was reported in August 2020 that the Government had retailored the Ogle to Diamond bypass road project to conform to the loan available to execute the major works.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, had said that the new, four-lane project will extend from Ogle to Eccles, rather than to Diamond. This move will save taxpayers approximately US$158 million.

“Already, on the bright side, we were able to, in just six months, bring forward the approval of the new four-lane road from Ogle to Eccles, funded by the Indian Government, by almost a year,” President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, said during his inaugural address to the 12th Parliament, on Thursday.
By approving funds for this project, the Government of India has paved the way for the project to move into the procurement stage.
Identifying the previously proposed connection at Mocha as a difficult area to execute works, the Minister Indar had said the swamped terrain contributed to an astronomical increase in the total project cost.

“For you to do those swamps, the cost of the earth works pushed up the cost to US$208 million. Remember, the Indian Government only had US$50 million allocated to this project. So, we had to redesign the project to bring it to the original design,” Minister Indar explained.
Before the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) demitted office in May 2015, former President Donald Ramotar had conducted an official visit to India, where he received the commitment of a US$50 million loan from the Indian Exim Bank to fund the proposed bypass road.
When the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) took office the same year, the designs of the project were altered, drastically increasing the cost of the project to some US$208 million.

The loan agreement, secured by the Ramotar administration, was signed in 2017 by the then APNU+AFC Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan.
With the recent modifications, the construction of the 20-kilometre road will be covered entirely by the US$50 million loan.
It was reported that work on the first phase of the Ogle to Diamond bypass road is moving smoothly and will be completed by the end of April 2021.
Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, had told the Guyana Chronicle that the four-kilometre road, which is being developed on new, virgin soil, is 65 per cent complete.
Croal said the ongoing work includes the construction of two heavy-duty culverts and two heavy-duty reinforced concrete bridges, and the installation of street lights along the road.

This first phase of the project is being executed by the Ministry of Housing and Water through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).
“It was designed by the experienced staff of CH&PA… so, completion of work is on schedule,” Minister Croal said.
While leaving the official announcement of the macro impact of this project for President Ali, Croal said briefly that the road will undoubtedly create new lands for housing and other economic activities.