AS part of the overarching plan of the government to develop and upgrade infrastructure across the country, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, on Wednesday, commissioned the newly rehabilitated roads at Sari Dam in Good Hope, Region Four.

Under the Vereeniging /Unity Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), the Ministry of Public Works constructed the two roads to the tune of $65M.

The ministry noted that the daily lives of hundreds of residents will be significantly improved as a result of the road upgrades. Minister Edghill noted that road works were done as a way to modernise the infrastructure and provide a more accessible commute to and from communities.

In addition to the commissioning of the new roads, Minister Edghill, also visited a section of the Cane Grove Main Access Road where work is being carried out, after residents, some three weeks ago, complained about the deplorable state of the road.

MORE INFRASTRUCTURAL WORK
In keeping with government’s roadmap for growth and advancement in the local economy, some $543.6 million has been invested to upgrade several roads along the East Coast Demerara (ECD) corridor.

Information released by the government shows that a total of 27 roads valued at $458.6 million were built in the Better Hope/La Bonne Intention NDC area alone, while another $88 million was spent to repair roads in the area governed by the Plaisance/Industry NDC.

In addition to providing improved road facilities, the ongoing works have also added to the creation of thousands of jobs, bringing the Dr. Irfaan Ali-led administration closer to delivering on its promise to create at least 50,000 jobs within the next five years.

During this year alone, the government plans to expend some $172.4 billion, or 45 per cent of its $383.1 billion budget on education, public infrastructure and healthcare. Of this sum, the $58.2 billion worth of planned expenditure on public infrastructure is the second largest component of the government’s fiscal programme.

On the capital side, the budget for infrastructure is $32.9 billion, or 32 per cent of the total allocation for 2021. The country’s aggregate capital provision for this year is $103 billion.

Further, the government’s total budget for its road programme is $23.7 billion, $7.9 billion of which will go specifically towards the development of community roads. Of the budgeted sum, $2.1 billion has been set aside for hinterland roads, and the rehabilitation of a number of hinterland airstrips.

Those investments, according to the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), in its message following the announcement of Budget 2021, provide the financial grounding for the ‘build-out’ of the country’s infrastructure, and the basis for re-starting economic growth, which would have been hindered by a protracted electoral process and the pervasive COVID-19 pandemic.