Public consultation to discuss effects of new Demerara River Bridge set for March 29

Mar 23, 2022 News

By Rehanna Ramsay

Kaieteur News – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to host a public consultation on the effects of the planned replacement of the Demerara Harbour Bridge – the new Demerara River Bridge.
According to the EPA, the consultation exercise is a response to the appeals submitted to the agency concerning its decision not to require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the construction of the New River Bridge which is to be located at Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara (EBD) and La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

Regional Chairman for Region Four, Daniel Seeram

The meeting is slated for 14:00hrs (2pm) on Tuesday, March 29, 2022 in the conference Room of the Cara Lodge Hotel on Quamina Street, Georgetown. This was outlined in the public notice by the EPA and disseminated via its Facebook page.
The EPA said that its decision is also premised on the Section 18 (2) of the EPA Act which empowers its Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) to conduct public hearings in all appeals submitted against the EPA’s decision not to require an EIA for the project.
The public hearing will involve representations from appellants, the developer and other key stakeholders. Thereafter, the EPA noted, the EAB will deliberate on the findings and prepare a report with its decision confirming or setting aside its decision.
The EPA’s move to host a public hearing comes after objections were made to the construction of the bridge without consultation being held with residents of the affected areas – Nandy Park and surrounding communities.
According to an EIA screening report, though the new bridge is slated to replace the decades-old existing two-lane structure, it is not expected to cause extensive environmental impacts during its construction as a number of homes in the area of Nandy Park will have to be acquired by the State.
As such, Regional Chairman for Region Four, Daniel Seeram has been lobbying for residents to be consulted before the project takes shape.
In an invited comment with this newspaper on Tuesday, Seeram maintained his position that the Region is in support of the project, but will only give no objection only after residents are consulted.

An artist impression of new Demerara River Bridge Crossing.

He explained that while the EPA has advertised that the public hearing will be held via Facebook, he was only made aware of their decision after a discourse with this publication.
“There should have been invitations for the Regional Chairman and the Chairman of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council for this consultation,” Seeram said, adding that the Region’s Democratic Council has been quite vocal in the call for hearings to be held.
In addition, Seeram said that he believes that several stakeholders ought to be made aware of and be present at the imminent public hearing.
He noted that, “In addition to the residents, we believe that a number of people will be impacted, particularly those who will be displaced by the construction of the bridge, persons from the private sector who will represent the concerns of the business community at Peters’ Hall, representatives of the Guyana Power and Light company; the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph; and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority should all be heard.”
The Chairman continued, “Again, I note that the Region is not against the project it will be beneficial in the reduction of traffic on the East Bank (Demerara) corridors but when you are doing a project of this magnitude, it requires consultation and a multi-stakeholder approach.”
Seeram said, although he welcomes the move by the EPA, he hopes that the consultation will be fruitful and provide answers to the many questions that residents and other stakeholders have.
“For example, there is a question about the acquisition of land and property for displaced persons and Ministry of Public Works is yet to answer my question on exactly how many households will be affected in this regard,” Seeram said.

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