West Demerara Road Expansion Project 40% completed

Sep 20, 2016 News

– E.C.D project still in limbo, E.B.D slated to be completed next week
Minister of Infrastructure, David Patterson, has stated that works on US$42M West Demerara Road Expansion Project is moving apace. It is 40 percent completed.

Section of stalled East Coast Demerara Road widening project in Better Hope.

The works are being carried out by Jamaican engineering Company – Surrey Paving and Aggregate (SPA), and local construction company, BK International.
The project was made possible by a loan agreement totalling US$34.2M and US$200,000 respectively, between the Government of Guyana and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), which was signed on February 25, 2013.
The project commenced in 2015 and is slated to be completed by the end of 2018.
The objective of the venture is to increase efficiency and safety of road transportation along the West Coast Demerara Road from Vreed-en-Hoop to Hydronie, East Bank Essequibo; and combines six components – Road Works, Road Safety Awareness, Capacity Building, Road Works Supervision, Monitoring and Evaluation and Project Management.
The Road Works Component entails the improvement of approximately 30.7 km of the West Coast Demerara Road from Vreed-en-Hoop to Hydronie just about one mile east of Parika.

Works that were being carried out along the East Bank Demerara. (FILE PHOTO).

This aspect of the project includes pavement rehabilitation, road widening for the separation of pedestrians and cyclists from motorized traffic, installation of traffic signs and road markings, provision of additional highway lights, replacement of the Groenveldt Bridge – which is currently in progress – extension and repairs to culverts and relocation of the utilities.
Minister Patterson, providing an update on the project, said that the government has already disbursed “quite a lot” on the project this year with the outstanding amount for this year totalling approximately $1B.
Meanwhile, as projects are being initiated and some are already on the verge of completion, the East Coast Demerara Road Expansion Project is still lying dormant and has ben this way for almost three years now. The question on most road-users’ minds is, “Will it ever be completed?”
Minister Patterson, faced with this question, responded in the affirmative however; he could

Works being carried out at West Coast Demerara.

not say when the project will recommence.
“The funds are already approved from the China EXIM fund. I can’t unfortunately, I’ve been beating myself; I can’t tell you what is the hold up. The contract was signed even before we took office. There was a holdup at EXIM Bank querying the cost submitted by the contractor and we have reported before, the contractor I think, EXIM Bank would have felt that the cost submitted by the contractor was low,” Minister Patterson added.
The project was initiated by the former administration headed by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and commenced in 2011. The initiative was aimed at expanding the road network from Better Hope to Belfield. It has two components: highway improvement work; and supervision.
Meanwhile, the East Bank Demerara Road Expansion Project, which has been inconveniencing road users for years, will finally be completed by the end of this month.
The works were initially slated to be completed by the end of August however due to lack of bitumen in the earlier stages of the project, the contractors were allocated extra time to complete the final lot.
The Project which is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), was rolled out in 2011 by the former administration. The works were divided into three lots.
Lot One, Providence to Covent Garden, with a length of 2.65km – which is currently under construction – was initially awarded to Dipcon Engineering Services at a price of US$8M.
The company had only completed 59 percent of the contract when all works were “effectively ceased” in May 2015 – two years after the project was scheduled for a completion date of April, 30, 2013.
Following discussions with the contractor and the Ministry, an “agreeable settlement” was reached and on August 16, 2015, and the contract was terminated.
The works were then placed into the hands of Gaico Construction and BK International Incorporated.

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