Public Works Ministry seeks consultant for supervision of Soesdyke-Linden Highway resurfacing project

Nov 03, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana is looking to recruit a Consultant to supervise the resurfacing of the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, according to a request for expression of interest (EOI) advertised by the Ministry of Public Works in Wednesday’s edition of the Kaieteur News.

Some section of the Soesdyke- Linden Highway.

The Government recently secured financing from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to assist with the resurfacing of the Highway. Part of the money received will be used to secure consultancy services.

According to the advertisement, the services of the Consultant would include design review, construction supervision and general project management of the reconstruction of the Soesdyke-Linden Highway and contract administration throughout the project implementation process and thereafter, during the defects liability period.

The implementation period of the consultancy is estimated to be from July 18, 2023 to July 17, 2026. Interested consultants can submit their EOI to the Ministry of Public Works and the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office by November 23, 2022.

Kaieteur News had reported that the Government had requested a US$120M loan from the Bank to rehabilitate the highway. During a recent visit to Linden in October, President Irfaan Ali informed residents that the loan was approved. The Soesdyke-Linden Highway connects Region Four to the mining town of Region 10.

The US$120M loan would now be added to the $2.6B that was allocated for the project in this year’s budget for the rehabilitation of the highway. The Public Works Ministry in an advertisement recently had noted that its Work Services Group (WSG) is responsible for the overall implementation of the project.

The project entails reconstruction of approximately 73km of the asphaltic concrete pavement from the Soesdyke junction to the Wismar Bridge in Linden. Key elements of the scope of works include: milling of existing asphalt surface course, application of varying pavement structures above the milled sections of pavement inclusive of asphalt, sand asphalt &/ sub-base, full depth pavement reconstruction in certain sections, construction of two roundabouts along the alignment, sidewalk extensions to 9 multi-span bridges, drainage works and utility relocation and installation of roadway lighting.

In March, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had stated at an outreach in Linden that the road was in dire need of repairs. He had explained that while the Government has spent money repairing the road, because of exhaustive use, it has returned to a dilapidated state.

In 2021, the Government spent about $150M to upgrade sections of the roadway as well as drainage works. Despite this, following a trip to the mining town, the VP stated that “the highway is in a horrible state… it is in a bad state coming up here.”

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