Residents still in the dark on impacts of new Demerara River Bridge

Dec 02, 2021 News

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—Ministry of Public Works yet to set date for consultations

Kaieteur News – The Ministry of Public Works is yet to set a date for consultations with residents of Nandy Park and surrounding communities on the impacts of the construction of the new Demerara River Bridge.

The new bridge which will replace the decades-old existing two-lane facility, is not expected to cause extensive environmental impacts during its construction, but a number of homes in the area of Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara (EBD) will have to be acquired by the state, according to a Environmental Protection Agency screening report.
In an interview with Kaieteur News, Regional Chairman, Daniel Seeram explained that he has not yet received a response from the Ministry, to his letter dated November 16, 2021, which outlined the Region’s position on the request for a ‘No objection’ to be granted for the new bridge.
Seeram maintained his position that the Region will only offer its ‘No objection’ to the project, after residents are consulted. “Nothing was done. Right now they haven’t even responded to the letter that I had written to the Permanent Secretary,” he noted.
The Chairman said that even though a lot of families are scheduled to be relocated, no word has been forthcoming from the Ministry. The Chairman said, “We would have done our part at the level of the RDC (Regional Democratic Council), to bring some amount of clarity on what is going on and ask the necessary technical persons to deal with it. If they (the ministry) choose not to consult with the people, then we can see a backlash coming from the people living in those areas. I have been told that many persons from the area are very concerned. I cannot direct the Ministry how to do their jobs, but I told them that unless they do that, then I can give them the ‘no objection’. If they choose to go ahead without the approval from the Region then it’s basically on record that we did our part.”
In a previous interview, the Chairman pointed out that while the project is indeed poised to be transformative and beneficial in the reduction of traffic he is not satisfied that the residents have not been consulted.
Kaieteur News understands that the Permanent Secretary of the MPW, Vladim Persaud on November 2, 2021 issued a request for the Region to grant a no-objection to the project, citing that it is a national one that has already reached an advanced stage. In light of this letter of request, the Regional Chairman said he asked for a site visit, where the Ministry was asked whether it consulted residents, but it could not answer. But since the site visit, Seeram said that his office has been receiving multiple calls from residents in the area, with complaints and concerns about the project.
He said that this move by the Government is “very disrespectful” to the residents of the area. “It is not that we won’t grant them no-objection, we are awaiting a public consultation,” he clarified. The Chairman reminded that the bridge is proposed to pass through two ‘huge’ residential communities and the people must know how they stand to be impacted. “The ball is now in the Ministry’s court to ensure the consultations are done. The residents need to know how this construction will affect them, in terms of noise pollution, dust, etcetera,” he added.
The Ministry of Public Works which is overseeing the construction of the new facility, has since been cleared by the EPA from having to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). While outlining some environmental impacts said to be negligible, such as noise and some dust pollution during construction, it was noted that an initial assessment of the proposed alignment on the eastern bank of the Demerara River shows that approximately 24 lots of land may be acquired.
According to the EPA’s screening report, in determining whether an EIA was warranted or not, it was pointed out that approximately 10 of the plots that will have to be acquired have concrete/wooden structures erected on them.
The report did indicate that there are no properties to be acquired on the western bank of the Demerara River. According to the EPA’s screening report, “when it becomes clear which properties will be affected, it has been proposed that property owners will be engaged for voluntary acquisition at fair compensation in keeping with the acquisition laws of Guyana.”
It was noted, too, that there has been initial consultation with residents “who welcome the project and subsequent to consultations, a voluntary relocation/resettlement plan will be required and developed.”
According to the EPA, “these impacts are certain to occur, but due to the small number of households to be relocated and the legal and consultative process to be followed by project proponent(s), the overall significance is therefore considered low and not potentially significant.”

Additionally, it was noted that the bridge will pass close to approximately 40 households in Nandy Park and Providence and that the “impacts will be neutral to minor, as there are existing roads and similar traffic volume and flows in the general area.”
The EPA in its pronouncement did say, “…this impact though certain to occur, the overall significance or risk is therefore considered minimal.”

 

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