Talks on Linden-Lethem highway “advanced”

Nov 24, 2010 News

– Ambassador Nawbatt

Guyana’s Ambassador to Brazil Harrinarine Nawbatt said yesterday talks between Guyana and Brazil on building a paved highway from Lethem to Linden are “advanced” and sees it as one of the key projects to integrate South America.

Guyana’s Ambassador to Brazil Harrinarine Nawbatt

His comments came as delegations from the different countries of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) began meeting in Georgetown ahead of high level meetings between South American foreign ministers and presidents, on Thursday and Friday.
In September 2009, Brazil’s President Lula DaSilva, said the commissioning of the Takutu Bridge linking Guyana and Brazil was only the start of a “concrete and irreversible step to integrate Guyana and Brazil and bring prosperity to our people.”
There has always been talk of Brazil financing the road, and Lula had then committed to analyzing the financial conditions for the undertaking.
“There are discussions; there are serious discussions taking place,” Nawbatt told Kaieteur News before heading into the UNSAUR discussions yesterday.
He described the discussions on the Linden-Lethem road as being at an “advanced state” since Lula’s disclosure a year ago.
In fact, Nawbatt pointed out that an engineer from the Brazilian Army was in Guyana about a month ago to look at the prospects of bridging the Essequibo River at Kurupukari, where crossing is currently facilitated by a pontoon.
He said bridging that river would form part of one “one major arrangement” in paving the Linden-Lethem road.
Nawbatt described Brazil as the centre of integration in South America and said he was pleased with efforts towards this end with the stewardship provided by Lula.
The outgoing Brazilian President is due to be fêted by Guyana tomorrow evening through a cultural programme entitled, “Guyana, Landscape and Festivals.” It is at this ceremony, to be held at the National Cultural Centre, that Lula will be conferred with Guyana’s highest national award – the Order of Excellence.
The paving of the Linden-Lethem road will interconnect and facilitate trade with the state of Roraima in Brazil and will provide complete integration of the countries in the Guiana Shield Hub, since it intersects with the proposed East-West transportation network, joining Venezuela with Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
The Linden-Lethem road, measuring 450 kilometres, is currently surfaced by gravel. Upgrading would require the replacement of some 80 drainage structures. Two major river crossings are expected to be included in the project, namely the bridge across the Demerara River at Linden, which is in reasonable condition, but only capable of accommodating one-lane traffic and will require extension, and the Kurupukari river, which is located midway on the route from Linden to Lethem.

Suriname Ambassador Glenn Alvares

Meanwhile, Surinamese Ambassador Glenn Alvares said that Guyana has an excellent opportunity to showcase how it will lead the continent for the next year. President Rafael Correa of Ecuador will hand over the UNASUR Presidency to President Bharrat Jagdeo on Friday.
Alvares said that this is the first time UNASUR is coming “to the north of the continent” and so it is of particular importance to Guyana and Suriname, which are both members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
His view is that this UNASUR meeting is important, given that the Treaty to formalize the grouping needs ratification by just one other nation, and this could happen soon. Eight countries have already ratified the Treaty, with Suriname doing so only two weeks ago.
“We do not even have the treaty in place yet, so we are at the first stage of integration. What is going to develop in the future is something unbelievable; the opportunities will be there. It will be depending on our countries and governments to see if we can use them,” said Alvares.
As UNASUR looks to formalize itself, the grouping is seeking add a “democracy clause” to support democratic rule in the countries of the continent. This is something that Alvares welcomes.
“We can celebrate the fact that all the countries on this continent have a democratically elected government and any illegal interruption of that process should not be welcomed,” Alvares declared.