–          President Ali says
–          as US$161M contract signed for reconstruction of Soesdyke-Linden Highway

HIGHLIGHTING that his government has a new, well-thought-out and carefully articulated plan for Guyana, President, Dr Irfaan Ali has said that the reconstruction of the Soesdyke-Linden Highway serves as a wider menu of investments aimed at the transformation of the country.
The Head of State made these remarks on Wednesday during the signing and sod-turning ceremony for the reconstruction of the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.
The contract for the project, which has long been in the works, was inked to the tune of US$161 million and will be carried out by a joint venture,  Namalco Construction Services Limited, out of Trinidad and Tobago and GuyAmerica Construction Inc. from Guyana.
The reconstruction will be supervised by a Kuwait firm, AlHabshi Engineering Consultants to the tune of US$1.775 million and is the first project in Guyana to be funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).

Delivering the feature remarks at the ceremony, President Ali stated that the investment into this reconstruction is part of a wider set that is aimed at the transformation of the country, and the opening up of opportunities along with the rebuilding and expansion of the economy.
“This highway is integral, not only for the connectivity between Region Four and Region 10, but importantly, it is important because it is one of the main arteries that support the development in the hinterland communities and wider afield,” he said.
Dr Ali said the highway is linked to other key and critical infrastructures that would expand the productive capacity of the country, while also expanding land availability and opening up new areas for a multifaceted investment portfolio.
Emphasising the importance of the thoroughfare, he indicated that the upgrade will support the transformation of the town of Linden as an important industrial hub that will support the mining community, as well as an important mechanical hub and further, will also open up lands for agriculture, tourism and even housing development all the way to Bartica.
He expressed, “As you can see, this is a careful articulation, a careful plan, a careful vision that is being implemented across the country. This is not guesswork. This is not accidental planning. This is a careful, well-articulated strategy that will put Guyana number one.”
Against this backdrop, he said that by the time his government is finished Guyana’s economy will be the most advanced, most diversified and most integrated one with its urban and regional planning as the best in the hemisphere.
However, placing the focus back on the project for the upgrade, President Ali indicated that when projects are being carried out, contractors are implored to employ persons from the communities in which these projects will be executed.
As a result, he said that with this project, contractors are looking for some 300 persons to be employed in various capacities for the two-year period in which the project will be conducted.
“We want the persons in Linden and on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway to maximise this opportunity,” he said.

Meanwhile, providing citizens of the community with specifics on the project, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill said that the policy of the government is to ensure that when projects are being carried out, the contractors meet with the people of the community so that residents of the community will be able to monitor these projects.
While the minister reiterated that this is the first development project funded by the IsDB here, he said that getting to this point can be attributed to the leadership and activism of the President and the Minister of Finance, whom he said worked around the clock to ensure that the project was in place.
Edghill went on to state that the project will see the construction of two roundabouts, one at the Soesdyke-Linden junction and the other at the Millie’s Hideout area, which he said will ensure the smooth transition of traffic going in every direction.
Further to this, he indicated that when the highway is rehabilitated, over 2,900 streetlights will be installed along the entire highway and with all bridges that are expected to be constructed, there will also be pedestrian bridges at the side.
Along the 73km stretch, the Public Works Minister revealed that lay-by’s will be constructed to prevent accidents that happen with parked vehicles along the highway and added to this, designated rest areas will be put in place along the stretch.
Additionally, the project also caters for the improvement of drainage along the entire highway, which will prevent flooding that has occurred in the past. With this will come improvements to the base and surface of the road to cater for the new level of tonnage traversing the highway.
Meanwhile, the minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, added that as part of the reconstruction, 10 bridges and five other structures will be built along the alignment.
He noted that the signing of the contract and the turning of the sod is testimony that the government has been fulfilling promises that have been made and further added that all across Guyana, there are signs of economic development.