GUYANA was able to showcase its expertise in the area of roads and highway construction at the recently concluded 11th International Road Federation (IRF), Regional Caribbean Congress in Nassau, Bahamas.

A team from the Ministry of Housing and Water-Central Housing and Planning Authority’s Project Department took part and presented a case study on the Design and Construction of Rigid Pavement Highway in Guyana, as part of a technical session on Transport Infrastructure for Small lsland Developing States.

The team was led by Director of Projects, Omar Narine, his Deputy, Intakab Indarjeet, and included other engineers from the Projects Department.

Coming out of the event, the team deemed the presentation a success, as the panel was impressed with Guyana’s use of Rigid Pavement designs, over the more traditional forms of road construction, which in an era of booming socio-economic development is a very feasible approach for the country.

With the Government’s expansive Building and Infrastructure Development Agenda, the Ministry of Housing and Water (MoHW) and the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) engineers started to explore pragmatic methods in order to ensure the realisation of that agenda within the shortest time. Also put forward was the importance of adopting new construction methodologies, designs, and implementation approaches.

With the development of new housing schemes and the expansion of existing ones, the Projects Department, after much research, planning, and designing, agreed to the use of Rigid Pavement Highways, which has been successful thus far. This method was highly praised by the panel leading industry innovators, researchers, and stakeholders during the event.

Based on feedback from the conference and the Guyana delegation, the panel hoped that more Caribbean nations can adopt this methodology, given the success and benefits Guyana has achieved in terms of value for money, durability, and sustainability. This Rigid Pavement method was first used during the construction of the Mandela Avenue to Eccles Highway and is being used in the construction of the Meer Zorgen to the Crane four-lane Highway, Region 3.

The 11th International Road Federation, (IRF) Regional Caribbean Congress was held in Nassau, Bahamas from June 13 to 16, 2023.