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IDB approves US$20M for extension of four-lane highway
The IDB has approved a US$20M loan to extend the four-lane highway from Providence to Diamond.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a US$20M ($4B) loan that will see the four-lane highway on the East Bank of Demerara being extended to Diamond.
“The project aims to improve these conditions by expanding the East Bank Demerara Main Road between Providence and Diamond from two to four lanes, and by providing parking lanes, bus stops, crossings for pedestrians, and bicycle lanes that will increase safety and reduce disruption to traffic flow.”
The bank, in a release yesterday, said that the investments are expected to improve conditions for driving and access for vehicles and pedestrians along one of the busiest stretches of the main road network.
In the face of new housing schemes and a plan to distribute 10,000 houselots along the East Bank of Demerara, authorities are expecting an explosion of vehicles on what is considered one of the country’s most used roadways.
Already, the peak hour traffic is worrying engineers with several measures being put into place to ease the congestion.
Currently, the four-lane highway runs from Ruimveldt to Providence but the ease expected with that construction a few years ago has not brought expected results with vehicle imports estimated at a 17% growth annually.
According to IDB, within five years, the project is expected to yield a 15% reduction in travel time by car on the improved road section, as well as a five-kilometre extension of the road network that is in good condition.
“It is also anticipated that the project will result in a 10 percent reduction in the rate of crashes and resulting deaths, and a 10 percent reduction in travel time of passengers that use public transportation in the project area.”
The IDB said that the project will see Guyana doubling the capacity of a section of one of its principal highways and facilitate safer access for pedestrians at that section.
“The funds will finance a program that seeks to enhance urban and suburban mobility and safety, lower transport costs and reduced accident rates along the East Bank Demerara Main Road up to Diamond.”
The IDB loan consists of $10 million from the Bank’s Ordinary Capital with a 30-year term, a six-year grace period and interest rate based on LIBOR; and $10 million from the Fund for Special Operations with a 40-year term, a 40-year grace period, and a 0.25 percent interest rate.
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