Sod turning for Corentyne River Bridge in a couple weeks – Surinamese President

May 20, 2025 News

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Kaieteur News-  The ground-breaking ceremony to commence construction of the Corentyne River Bridge will take place in a few weeks’ time, President of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi said on Monday.

The Surinamese President was at the time addressing the opening ceremony of GUYSURE Aggregate & Sands Inc. sales office, a subsidiary of Grassalco, which opened in Guyana.

According to information provided on the President’s Facebook page, Grassalco is the first Suriname state-owned company that opened a branch abroad.

“The collaboration between Grassalco and the Guyanese market is a concrete realization of the broader regional integration goals within CARICOM. This company is not only an important step for Grassalco, but also an example of successful economic expansion of Suriname businesses. I congratulate Grassalco and its partners on this special milestone. May this successful collaboration serve as an example to other businesses in our country and region,” the post stated.

Speaking briefly about the Corentyne River Bridge that will link Guyana and Suriname, President Santokhi said, “Yes we were planning today… this event and the ground-breaking ceremony of the bridge that we planned joint activity but unfortunately I think the ground-breaking ceremony will need some more time, more in terms of weeks than months, but it will come.”

Chairman of the Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce (SGCC), Dr. Vishnu Doerga said that the construction of the bridge is a necessity and not luxury.

Doerga stated that the Corentyne River Bridge will be the spine of a new trade corridor reducing transportation costs, accelerating business and encouraging cross-border investment.

“One large project that is on the horizon that will require a lot of support from both countries is the Corentyne River Bridge; it remains a high priority for us at the SGCC. Any one of you who have had the luxury of using the ferry service knows why we need the bridge very urgently, but we also proposed to both governments, enhancements to the current ferry system, better scheduling, increase capacity and streamline processes. These are low hanging fruits that can immediately improve trade and investment between our nations,” he related.

Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo back in January said the government is set to acquire a loan to finance the bridge project. Jagdeo at his weekly press conference was asked by reporters about the source of Guyana’s financing for its 50 per cent of the total cost of the project to which he replied, “We can acquire the loan, it would be a loan, it’s a loan. It could be from China but it could be from any other source.”

The Vice President added that already they have explored several potential financiers for the project.

Noting the country’s readiness in moving forward with the project, Jagdeo told the media at the time that Guyana is now waiting on Suriname.

“We are at a stage now where the parties have to come to the table to say we can come up with our share of the money, we are prepared to make that commitment now and we can raise our share of the resources swiftly and once the other side can do that then the project can move fast,” he said

This publication reported that the construction of the Corentyne River Bridge between the two South American nations will be executed by China Road and Bridge Corporation, a construction firm from China.

China Road and Bridge Corporation was among three bidders that submitted proposals to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office last year. At that opening, it was revealed that Ballast Nedam Infra Suriname bid US$325,400,000 for the contract, while China Road and Bridge Corporation bid US$236,173,962. Another Chinese company – China Railway Caribbean Company Limited also submitted a bid but the amount was not listed.

According to media reports, the governments of Guyana and Suriname had requested funding from China for the project and are still awaiting approval.

The Ministry of Public Works, through which the project will be executed, reported that the bridge will span the Corentyne River from South Drain in Suriname to Moleson Creek in Guyana, and is slated to have a life span of 100 years.

In May 2022, the consultancy assignment for the Feasibility Study and Detailed Designs for the construction of the bridge was awarded to WSP Caribbean, amounting to US$2 million. The assignment included various works such as topographic assessment, hydraulic and hydrographic studies, traffic demand analysis, financial and economic evaluation, environmental assessment, and the preliminary design of the bridge and roads.

The bridge will span approximately 1,100 metres in length with 22 spans measuring 50 metres each. The sub-structure is expected to withstand minor vessel impact. The carriageway is expected to span around 10.05 metres, accommodating two lanes under regular conditions and three lanes during emergencies or controlled situations.

It was reported that presenting this year’s budget, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and the Public Sector Dr. Ashni Singh disclosed the government has set aside an allocation of $5billion towards the construction of the Corentyne River Bridge.

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• Chandrikapersad Santokhi, commence, Coretyne River Bridge, matter of weeks, President of Suriname, sod-turning

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