–contractors working extra hours daily to ‘get back on track’ after squatting issue at Mocha

WORKS have been progressing rapidly on Lot Four of the transformative East Coast Demerara (ECD) to East Bank Demerara (EBD) bypass road, which runs through an area which was recently occupied by squatters at Mocha.

The work being undertaken by KP. Thomas and Sons Inc. is expected to progress, unhindered, in the coming months.
The Guyana Chronicle visited the site where Foreman Moses Wilson said four months of work was delayed due to the squatters.

“So far, since the squatters moved, works have been progressing at a rapid pace, and within six months the project should be completed,” he said.
Wilson related that they have been working an additional six hours every day to get back on track.

“If the squatters weren’t there, they would have been at final lift with the sand; the stabilization to cast,” he explained.

A US$106.4 million contract was in June 2022 signed for the construction of the first phase of the ECD to EBD road linkage project.

At the signing ceremony, which was held at the intersection of the Rupert Craig Highway and Ogle Road on the East Coast of Demerara, it was announced that an India-based construction company, Ashoka Buildcon Limited, will take on the project which is expected to be carried out over 24 months.

The first phase of the road is expected to be a four-lane highway that stretches some 7.8 kilometers, with each lane being 3.6 meters wide. The road will also feature a median, sidewalks, and several structures along the way.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh had said this massive project is being supported through a concessional line of credit worth US$50 million from the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of India.

He related that the road is not a stand-alone project, as it cannot be seen in isolation from what is happening across the rest of the country.

“Each one of these projects must not be seen as stand-alone or isolated projects unconnected within an elaborate and comprehensive masterplan; an elaborate and comprehensive plan for the transformation of infrastructure across Guyana,” Dr. Singh said.