Latest update October 31st, 2024 1:00 AM
Latest News
- Jagdeo will not give Guyanese a chance to vote on renegotiation of Exxon’s lopsided contract at elections
- CNOOC credits Guyana’s Payara project for record-high Q3 oil production
- A Gaza medic realizes he’s carrying his own mother’s body, killed by an Israeli airstrike
- Sophia teen stabbed to death by 11-yr-old friend
- Enmore man mistaken for thief abducted, brutally beaten
2 Chinese contractors vying for East Coast road project
Kaieteur News
By Allyiah Allicock
China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the contractor that was awarded the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expansion project, is one of the two Chinese-owned companies vying for the contract to complete the upgrades of the East Coast Demerara (ECD) highway.
The ECD highway upgrade project is one being undertaken by the Ministry of Public Works. This project, according to the Ministry is for the completion of phase two of the East Coast Demerara road widening and improvement project from Annandale to Mahaica and the construction of a four-lane road along the railway embankment corridor from Sheriff Street to Orange Nassau.
During the opening of bids on Thursday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office, CHEC and China Railway First Group Co. Limited were the only firms that submitted bids for the contract. According to NPTAB, China Railway submitted a bid of US$184,898,925 for the project while CHEC submitted two bids – US$248,502,291 and an alternative bid of US$223,505,303 for the project.
The widening of the ECD highway began under the previous government when works on the first phase started in 2017 and was completed in 2020 by the contractor China Railway First Group.
In January 2017, the then Government (the APNU+AFC Coalition) had secured a concessional loan for the widening and improvement of the highway.
According to reports, former Finance Minister, Winston Jordan had signed a Concessional Loan Agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China for RMB Yuan 313,838,800 or approximately US$45,318,337 for the project. And this was achieved less than two months after the inking of the Framework Agreement between the Governments of Guyana and the People’s Republic of China that took place on November 23, 2016.
The East Coast Demerara highway which was widened by China Railway First Group
Though China Railway commenced works on the road in 2017, according to reports, the contract was awarded back in 2014 under the PPP/C government to the tune of US$42.7 million.
But before this contract was awarded, initial works on the project had started sometime in 2012 when the government had received a US$688,950 grant from the Kuwaiti Government to carry out a feasibility study on the Better Hope to Annandale road.
Following the commissioning of the first phase back in February 2020, the government is now moving forward to complete the next phase of the expansion project. The expansion project will begin at Annandale and be completed at Mahaica.
The East Coast widening project continues too with plans to widen the railway embankment corridor.
Back in June, Senior Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, during a contract signing ceremony had noted the importance of upgrading the roadways in the country. These road projects he explained are not only to improve the ease of commute or opening new lands for productive activity, but also to improve connectivity within the country and with neighbouring counterparts.
During that ceremony, the Minister had mentioned that there are plans on opening up a new four-lane highway along the East Coast from Sheriff Street to Orange Nassau with further work planned for beyond all the way to Rosignol.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Where are the next of kin?
…Peeping Tom Kaieteur News- There’s a troubling headline I came across recently, and, trust me, it wasn’t “Meteorite... more
Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger... more
Weekend Cartoon
