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No PPP for new Demerara River Bridge
…has seen what it did for Marriott, Berbice Bridge – Patterson
The controversial Public Private Partnership (Px3) financial structure that was used by the previous administration to construct the Berbice River Bridge and the Marriott Hotel will not be used by the coalition A Partnership for National Unity plus Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government, to construct the new Demerara River Bridge.
Public Works Minister, David Patterson
Minister with responsibility for Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, said that the APNU+AFC Government will not be using this model, given its track record in Guyana. Further, there are numerous other options available.
He said that the administration has seen the outcome of the Public Private Partnership model with the construction and operation of the Berbice River Bridge and the Marriott Hotel.
He drew reference to the use of concessional loans and options such as the Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) models.
“I don’t know which model we will use but it will not be the Px3, we are not going down that route again; we will find out first what is the best option available,” said Minister Patterson.
The Minister disclosed too that the pre-feasibility study which was conducted under the previous administration will also not be used. The current government is looking to have another feasibility study undertaken.
According to Minister Patterson, the pre-feasibility study that was conducted by the previous administration was done in a most ad hoc manner, lacking basic components such as soil tests and tidal flows.
The Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration, according to Minister Patterson, was pursuing the construction of a bridge using incomplete documentation.
He said the APNU+AFC Government has in fact set aside money to undertake a proper feasibility study to determine the best way forward in pursuit of a new river crossing across the Demerara River.
Meanwhile, as it relates to the Expressions of Interest (EOI) which were submitted to the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), based on the previous pre-feasibility study, Minister Patterson said, these were never opened and Government has no intention of opening them either.
A section of the existing Demerara Harbour Bridge.
He said those expressions of interest were submitted in keeping with the pre-feasibility study conducted by the previous administration.
Asked about a possible astronomical increase in the tolls paid to cross the Demerara River using a new Bridge, Minister Patterson assured that this would not be the case.
He said that the Bridge has already proven its feasibility in terms of the level traffic utilizing the facility. According to Patterson, in excess of 10,000 vehicles utilize the bridge on a daily basis.
Government will certainly be looking to have a financial structure in place to allow the principals to recover investments while not placing additional burdens on commuters.
The new tolls, he said, “will not be too expensive…it will not be similar to (the) Berbice (River Bridge).”
A number of Chinese and Indian Companies were vying to build the New Demerara Bridge River crossing which was at the time being handled by NICIL. At the time, 22 Expressions of Interest were submitted.
The pre-feasibility study which was done for the construction of a new river bridge by the Public Works Ministry had identified the best location for the bridge to be between Houston on the East Bank of Demerara and Versailles on the West Bank of the river.
The existing two-lane floating bridge was constructed in 1978 by the UK firm Thomas Storey Engineers Limited and had a life of 10 years. From 1995 to 1998 the bridge underwent major rehabilitation by the Damien Ship Yards of the Netherlands at a cost of US$9M and was given an extended life of 15 years (from 1995).
At present the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) carries out intensive annual maintenance and element replacement activities on the bridge structure to provide a continuous level of service.
The Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation is responsible for the management and collection of tolls. The average annual revenue collection is approximately US$1.9M.
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