Dutch firm chosen for feasibility study on new Demerara River crossing

Nov 25, 2016 News

– structure likely to be a fixed, overhead one

Work to build a new bridge across the Demerara River to deal with traffic congestion is picking up steam, with a Dutch consultancy firm set to conduct a feasibility study from January.

Minister David Patterson

According to Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, a pre-feasibility study conducted by the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation and Ministry of Public Works in 2013 had concluded that a fixed structure was best option for a new crossing for the river.
The current bridge is a floating one that rests on pontoons.
The feasibility study will be conducted by LievenseCSO, a Dutch consultancy which came out tops of a number of companies that expressed interest. The selection of the company was conducted in a transparent procurement process, Harmon told media operatives during the post Cabinet briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday.
It was explained that on Tuesday, during the weekly meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, requested and was granted approval for LievenseCSO to conduct the feasibility study for the construction of a new bridge across the Demerara River.
Harmon noted that the pre-feasibility, done under the previous Government, concluded that a new high-level fixed bridge was the best option to be pursued
This year, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure advertised for suitable consultants to conduct a feasibility study to lead up to the construction of the bridge utilising the public private partnership (PPP) model.
“The ministry has since received an offer from a recognized Dutch consultancy firm, LievenseCSO, to conduct the feasibility study and design for the new bridge, including a detailed investigation for prospective financiers as well as the preparation of private public partnership tender documents,” Minister Harmon disclosed.
The study will commence in January.
While Harmon was unable to say, a number of locations for the new bridge are being considered – including Versailles, West Bank Demerara, Mandela Avenue and Houston, East Bank Demerara.

The 38-year-old Demerara Harbour Bridge is unable to efficiently handle the volume of traffic.

Minister Harmon explained that while the pre-feasibility study had examined several things and narrowed down the options, the feasibility study will focus in a more limited way on the PPP model, the tender documents, and whether the bridge makes sense.
The feasibility study is the critical phase before financial closure and construction.
LievenseCSO will also be assisting in suggesting financing options for the new structure which from all indications will be an overhead one.
It will by no means be a cheap venture, with some officials saying that it could end up costing Guyana more than US$250M.
LievenseCSO describes itself as an engineering consultancy in the fields of infrastructure, environment, construction and pipelines. It specializes in engineering, underground pipelines, spatial planning and the built environment. It has more than 200 professionals operating from seven offices in the Netherlands, offices in Saudi Arabia and on St. Maarten.
The international focus is in particular ports, water and flood protection, dredging and land reclamation and pipelines.
The need for a new bridge has been engaging consecutive administrations, with the current structure being 38 years old and unable to handle the volume of traffic.
The bridge is seeing more than 18,000 crossings daily for vehicles.
Yesterday morning, for the first time in decades, the bridge started night retractions as one of the measures to help reduce congestion.
The aging Demerara Bridge is the main link to the West Demerara and Essequibo Coast from the city. Thousands of persons live and work on both sides, with the East Bank public road the main access to the Timehri airport and the hinterland via the Soesdyke/Linden highway.
Night openings was one of the few options left for the administration to help reduce the daily congestion, made worse by the 90-minute retractions.
Harbour bridge management wants to bring this down to 60 minutes and even less eventually.