Housing Minister Projects spending over $28B on East Bank infrastructure works

Dec 22, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – The Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, while delivering his remarks at the commissioning of the Diamond to Mocha interlink road on Monday, stated that the ministry has a projection of over $28 billion dollars to be spent for infrastructure works along the East Bank of Demerara over the next year and a half.

Minister of Housing, Colin Croal

Croal told Kaieteur News that the projected sum will include the cost for the four-lane Eccles to Diamond highway and additional infrastructure works, such as housing areas which will be constructed along the East Bank.
The minister stated that there is close to $7 billion being spent on the first phase of infrastructure works for the upgrading of existing access roads, bridges, on surface roads, pipe networks, drains and culverts in areas for persons whom will be shown their lots and can move in to start building soon.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly, on Thursday last approved the sum of $7.7 billion for the Ministry of Housing and Water to execute infrastructural works in new and existing housing schemes, and the construction of the Eccles to Diamond four-lane highway. Of the $7.7 billion, the sum of $2.7 billion will go towards infrastructural works in new areas; $2 billion for works in existing schemes; $1.9 billion for the Eccles to Diamond four-lane highway; and $521 million for survey works.
The works will include land preparation, roads, bridges, drainage and water network in communities in Regions Three, Four, Five and Six, some of which include Plantation Stewartville, Mon Repos, Annandale, Vigilance, Bladen Hall, Strathspey, LBI, Plantation Cummings Lodge, Plantation Great Diamond, Plantation Little Diamond, Plantation Prospect Phase Three, Plantation Providence, Plantation Experiment, Williamsburg, Hampshire, and many more.
“We have ongoing works for contracts that exist, and so additional sums are required to ensure that we complete these works to make available accommodation for more land space, so that we can have occupancy for over 10,000 lots,” Minister Croal clarified.
For the Eccles to Diamond four-lane road, Croal further explained, the total amount to be awarded will be $13.3 billion, and thus, a 15 per cent mobilisation advance was being sought. The surveys will be conducted in a number of housing schemes, and the four-lane road alignment is to be done, as well.

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