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Guyana, Brazil establish joint working group to focus on major projects
Plans to build a road linking Guyana to Brazil have been given a kick start with the signing of a crucial agreement establishing a joint working group.
The group will not only be working to make the Linden/Lethem Road a reality but to also examine the construction of a new port and hydro-electric projects.
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador Antonio Patriota, Minister of External Relations of Brazil signing the MoU.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Brazilian Minister of External Relations, Antonio Patriota, yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing the Working Group on Infrastructure.
The MOU was signed in Brasilia, the Federal capital of Brazil, at the Ministry of External Relations.
The working group is expected to submit its Report by the first quarter of 2013.
According to Minister Rodrigues-Birkett, “the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding is the result of the quiet work we have been doing in the last couple of years and is no doubt another step forward as Guyana and Brazil continue to work towards infrastructural integration, which will see both countries benefitting from increased trade and people to people contact.
This is also part of the wider South American integration process.”
Brazil would badly want the road through Guyana as it will provide a much shorter route to the Atlantic Ocean, thus easing shipping time. It is the plan that container trucks will use the road to either a port in the city or altogether a new one.
Neighbouring Brazil, because of its vastness, has been examining several options of easing its shipping woes, with the Linden/Lethem Road being a highly attractive one.
They have offered to help fund the construction of the road. Already, a bridge across the Takutu River, which separates Guyana from Brazil, has been built, and vehicles using the outlying state of Boa Vista have been gladly utilizing it. Lethem has been reporting increased trade since the bridge was commissioned in late 2009.
The current 265-mile Linden/Lethem trail has been known to become impassable in rainy times, halting activities of miners, forestry operators and residents who would use it. It is filled with river crossings and ruts and there have been calls to pave it. But this will prove an expensive venture for the Guyana government alone.
Speaking of the Linden/Lethem Road, Minister Rodrigues-Birkett said ‘’for many years our two countries have been discussing physical integration and the completion of the Takutu River Bridge is a direct result of these discussions. However, to fully realize the trade potential it is imperative that the road be upgraded.”
She said that the road will benefit both countries as the northern part of Brazil in particular will have a shorter access route to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Linden/Lethem trail has always been susceptible to the weather.
“I am confident that the gestation period will be much shorter than that of the Takutu Bridge.’’
Minister Rodrigues-Birkett also said that studies are being conducted on the construction of a second hydro-electric plant, which could see Guyana supplying energy to Brazil in the future, should the project prove feasible.
Brazil had signaled its intentions as early as three years ago to help fund a 220-megawatt hydro power project near the border with Guyana. Brazil would purchase around100 megawatts to help power some of its northernmost areas, closest to Guyana.
With the high prices of gold in recent years, Guyana has been seeing an influx of Brazilians in especially the mining districts. In the city, there have been a number of Brazilian businesses springing up. It is estimated that over 15,000 Brazilians live and work in Guyana.
(Leonard Gildarie)
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