WORKS on the West Coast Demerara/East Bank Essequibo roadway from Vreed-en-Hoop to Hydronie are expected to begin before year-end, according to Minister of Public Works, Transport and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn.

A total of 31 kilometers of roadway are expected to be rehabilitated, while 28.5 kilometers of footpaths for pedestrians and 20 kilometers for cyclists will be developed under an agreement between the Government and the CBD (Caribbean Development Bank).
“The CBD is doing reviews on the project. The road should start by the end of the year,” he told the Guyana Chronicle in an invited comment.
The partnership is the fourth road improvement project, with a financing cost of US$46.7M and a project life of five years. The actual road improvement works are expected to be completed within two years.
At the launch of the project in March, Benn explained that the primary objective of the project is to increase efficiency and safety of road transportation along West Coast Demerara/ East Bank Essequibo corridor.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC ADVANCES

He pointed out that infrastructural development has a multiplying effect on socio-economic advances in the country, particularly in rural communities.

“There has been significant growth,” he said, adding that constrained infrastructural development poses real challenges to growth.
Benn’s Ministry, as per the CDB agreement, will be tasked with maintenance, which was identified by the CDB as a risk to the sustainability of the completed works. The Government will also be expected to report annually on their maintenance works, particularly since the project monitoring and evaluation component of the agreement is key to ensuring the standard and quality of such undertakings. Additionally, a project management team will be supported by a steering committee and the Ministry, all of whom report to the CDB. The Project Coordinator is Kester Hinds, while the CDB focal person is Glen MaCarvell.
The project has several components including: the actual road works, road safety awareness at the level of the schools and community, capacity building, engineering services and project monitoring and evaluation.
Tenders for the project are expected to go out in July.

(Vanessa Narine)