Latest update April 7th, 2025 12:08 AM
Govt. revokes order requiring private lands for new Demerara River Bridge
– opts to use State property
Kaieteur News – Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, on Monday revoked an acquisition order signed in 2019 authorising the compulsory acquisition of private lands to construct the approach roads for the new Demerara River Bridge, and has opted to use State property instead.
An artist’s impression of the new Demerara River Bridge
The Order by Minister Edghill has since been published in the Official Gazette and reads, “this order may be cited as the Acquisition of Lands for Public Purposes (Construction of Access Roadways to the new Demerara River crossing) (Revocation) Order, on September 13, 2021.”
Former Minister of Public Works, David Patterson, under whose administration the original order was inked, when contacted for a comment yesterday, and was asked if persons had already been compensated for the lands identified for use for the roads, responded in the negative.
According to Patterson, “there was no need to compensate anyone because it (Acquisition Order) wasn’t fully effected.”
Current Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, in an invited comment yesterday said that the administration has decided to use State property instead, to construct the approach roads, which would be located at Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
The construction of the new crossing for the Demerara River, a flagship project in the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) manifesto, is set to land in Nandy Park, a residential area on the East Bank of Demerara.
The new Demerara River Bridge is expected to connect to La Grange on the West Bank of Demerara and represents a move away from what was decided by the former A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration.
That administration had identified Houston, EBD, and Versailles, WBD, as areas for the landing sites for the new bridge.
These and other details of the bridge’s construction were shared recently by Head of State, President Irfaan Ali, and a team from the Public Works Ministry, during a visit to the proposed site for the new project.
President Ali and his team of engineers and officials inspected 4,000 feet of lands in the vicinity of Windsor Estates, an upscale-gated community area aback of Providence.
The President indicated to the press at the time that, because of where the channel is located in the Demerara River, which is closer to the Eastern side with a 5 percent degree grade, an additional 4,000 feet is necessary to get a proper gradient exiting out of the bridge.
President Ali at the time disclosed, too, that the bridge would be a “flyover” that will stretch across the EBD main road and then land in an identified area in Nandy Park.
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