-President Ali foresees creation of major network link for development, boost in trade

A US$35 million contract was on Friday inked between the Government of Guyana and the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited for the construction of the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge in Region 10.

During the signing ceremony which was followed by the turning of the sod for the historic project, President Dr. Irfaan Ali told hundreds of Lindeners that the new bridge will be a major network link for development.

According to President Ali, the new four-lane, concrete, 220-metre-long bridge will establish the region as a major hub for logistics connecting not only the regions in Guyana but other Caribbean nations.

“This bridge is linked to the 45 bridges we are doing along the Linden to Lethem highway that will create immense opportunity in positioning Region 10 as the engineering and mechanical hub and transport and logistics not only for mining, but also for trade that will exist between Brazil and CARICOM.”

In addition to the new bridge, plans are underway to reconstruct the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

Back in 2023, the government signed a US$200 million framework agreement for the reconstruction of the Soesdyke-Linden Highway with Islamic Development Bank.

The plan for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of 73 kilometres of the highway included two lanes undivided, nine bridges, and six culverts with improved design, quality and standards.

These investments, the President noted, are structured to create wealth for citizens.

“Investment is creating wealth. Wealth is creating opportunity. Opportunities creating improvement is creating prosperity,” he said.

President Ali further disclosed that the new bridge will be completed in two years and once complete it will support the increased number of vehicular crossings in the mining town of Linden.

He explained that there were about 768,000 vehicular crossings over the existing bridge in 2020 and in 2022 that figured doubled with crossings increasing to about 1.5 million.

The vision is to create a road network that will make Guyana a hub connecting the Caribbean and the Latin American regions.

The new infrastructure will ease traffic woes for hundreds of Lindeners.

Meanwhile, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill further explained that the bridge will connect the country’s coast to the hinterland.

“The development of a road network from Georgetown to Lethem and I start with Georgetown because this Wismar Bridge is not a stand-alone project. It is a part of a network that will link us to a deep-water harbour out of Berbice coming all the way through the East Bank and possible all the diversions that are being created onto the Linden-Soesdyke highway, through the Linden to Mabura Road and then we cross the Takutu to Brazil,” he said.

In November $842 million in contracts were signed for the rehabilitation of 19 miscellaneous roads in Region 10.

Earlier in the year, 49 contracts were also signed to develop concrete roads in several communities.

“We at the Ministry of Public Works don’t just see President Ali as our president when it comes to Guyana’s infrastructural development and the modernisation and transformation of Guyana. He is our team leader in as much as he is the president dealing with so many other issues…,” the minister added.