Govt. spent over US$40M to upgrade community roads in 2021

Jan 15, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – A total of $8.89 billion (just over US$40M) was spent to build and rehabilitate miscellaneous and urban roads in Guyana last year. This is according to the Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, who on Monday made the revelation during his Ministry’s year-end press conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar.

According to the Minister, this was one of the biggest programmes undertaken by his Ministry for last year. In budget 2021, a sum of $9 billion was allocated to the ministry for miscellaneous and other roads programme in the country.
Indar noted that during last year a total of 303 miscellaneous roads (community road) and about 36 urban roads were done across Guyana. “So together we had about 339 roads and that would have been done in every single community we went to and check there was a road built or roads being built there,” he explained.
The Minister stated that the demand for roads and the speed at which they deliver them remains a key focus for the Ministry. “We are working with every community to make sure roads are built so that we make it easy to walk and come in because some of the infrastructures of the country were very dilapidated,” he added.
Still on the topic of roads, it was disclosed that a sum of $1.2 billion was expended last year for main access roads in the country, which saw about 18 contracts being signed. The sum covers for main access roads at Wales, on the West Bank of Demerara, De Hoop Branch Road, Canal Polder 1 and 2, Lima Sands, Good Hope and Schoonord.
“So these are some of the big areas, in which the main access roads have been dealt and this is another aspect of the Ministry of Public Works,” Indar added.
According to reports, in September last, Mohammed Fawaz Bacchus Construction was awarded a $36.9million contract to do sectional repairs using asphaltic concrete on the Schoonord main access road, which has been in a deplorable state for some time. In Canal No.2, Japarts Construction Incorporated was awarded a $173 million contract to do repairs on 1.2km of asphaltic concrete road there, while in Canal No.2, Aronco Services Incorporated was awarded a $170 million contract for repairs on 1.2km of road.
Meanwhile, the Naamless to Bendroff stretch of road in Parika was rehabilitated to a tune of $60 million, while some $38 million was spent on the Naamryck access road to Loading Facility road in Region Three.
In August last, bids were open for the rehabilitation of miscellaneous roads at Leguan, Blankenburg, Mon Repos and Uitvlugt.
It was noted that at least two of these projects are completed while others are still ongoing. Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill during the press conference shared that these road programmes have a multi-year span thus all were completed in 2021.