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Four Indian companies pre-qualify for construction of the Ogle to Eccles Highway
The corridor of the Ogle to Eccles four-lane highway project.
Kaieteur News – Four Indian companies have been pre-qualified for the construction of the G$10.4B (US$50M) Ogle to Eccles four-lane highway. This detail was related to Kaieteur News yesterday by the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill.
Prior to revealing the number of pre-qualified companies, Edghill had stated on Tuesday – during the commissioning ceremony of Hunter Street, Charlestown – that India had pre-qualified several companies for the road project.
The Minister had noted as well that Guyana can now move forward to execute the final round of bidding, with the expectation that the contract will be awarded to one of the companies by the last quarter of 2021.
He added too, that India pre-qualified the companies because the financing was from its Exim (Export/Import) Bank. Kaieteur News had reported on May 8, in an article titled, “Govt. secures US$228M in loans for two roads,” that the Indian Exim Bank approved US$50M for the East Coast-East Bank road link.
Edghill further explained to this newspaper yesterday, that one of the requirements in obtaining the loan was that an Indian Company must execute the project.
“Just like how it is with the Chinese, one of the requirements to obtain the loan from the Indian Bank is for one of its company to do the project,” he said.
India had first committed to lending Guyana the US$50M for the road-link back in 2015 when then President, Donald Ramotar, visited the country.
The Ramotar administration was voted out of office that same year and the APNU+AFC Coalition Government took over. The designs of the road-link project were reportedly altered by the coalition administration and in 2017 former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordon, signed the loan agreement with India. However, the loan was never approved
When People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) re-took office in August 2020, it stated that the designs of the project had to be “retailored.” The current administration argued that the coalition plans had pushed up the cost of the project to US$208M when India had only committed to lending US$50M.
After the “retailored plans,” according to the government, only then was the loan approved.
Based on the new plans, the US$50M will be spent to construct a four-lane highway from Ogle on the East Coast of Demerara to Eccles, East Bank Demerara.
The Public Works Ministry had detailed that the “virgin road” will be some 7.8Km long with an asphaltic concrete finish. Each of the four lanes will be 3.6 metres wide. A concrete median will also be erected to create two traffic lanes in each direction. These works will also be accompanied with concrete drains, sidewalks and a utility corridor, which will run the length of the roadway.
Additionally, as part of the project, a two-lane concrete asphalted connector road will be constructed at Eccles-Haag Bosch. The project also includes streetlights, traffic signs, 14 culverts and four minor bridges.
A private consultant will be hired by the government to oversee the construction of road-link for a period of five years.
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