A DOCUMENT from the Ministry of Public Works has exposed former Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson’s misinformation regarding the cost of Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge.

The Alliance for Change (AFC) Parliamentarian, in a letter posted on his official Facebook page and later published by Stabroek News, boldly states that under his tenure, the construction cost of the two-lane version of the Wismar Bridge was US$23.6 million (inclusive of 10 per cent contingency), while the four-lane version was pegged at US$29.2 million (inclusive of contingency).

However, based on the official bid document received by the former A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) +AFC government from Politecnica, an Italian firm which provides integrated service in architecture, engineering and urban planning, Patterson’s figures did not match what was present by the company under the coalition.

To be specific, a snippet of a supposed breakdown shared by Patterson for Bill No. 01: Preliminaries, showed US$1,187,000.00, but the official bid document revealed that it was estimated to be US$1,877,000.00.

For Bill No.02: Earthworks, Patterson shared that it was estimated to be US$1,345,497.14. However, the official document showed that the Earthworks was estimated to be US$1,398,595.02.

As it relates to Bill No.03: Drainage works, the AFC Parliamentarian’s snippet showed US$2,031,845.50, while the official document, on the other hand, revealed that it was instead US$2,713,187.91.

Bill No.04: New Wismar Bridge, according to him, was US$15,035,815.38. This was a stark underestimation when compared to the figure within the document shared with the Guyana Chronicle, which showed US$19,052,653.00.

Additionally, for Bill No. 05: Pavement and Surfacing, Patterson wrote it was US$584,703.90. Instead, it was US$837,972.10, according to the document.

He also said that Bill No.06: Traffic Control “Devides,” Road Marking and Road Equipment were US$188,032.58. However, the official document disclosed that Traffic Control “Devices,” Road Marking and Road Equipment was actually US$187,867.13.

For Bill No.07: Miscellaneous Works, according to the AFC Parliamentarian, were US$453,423. 89. It was actually, US$797,837.80, according to the official document.

Finally, he showed that Bill. 08: Dayworks was US$661,450.00. However, the actual document disclosed that it was US$899,550.00.

According to the official document, the overall figure, inclusive of the 10 per cent contingency was US$30,541,129.25, a massive difference compared to the figure shared by Patterson.

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

According to President Dr. Irfaan Ali, the new four-lane, concrete, 220-metre-long bridge will make the region a major hub for logistics.