Govt. finalising process for full acquisition of Berbice Bridge – Min. Edghill

Feb 12, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill on Wednesday said the government is finalising negotiations for the full acquisition of the Berbice River Bridge in Region Six.

The minister made the disclosure while responding to APNU’s Member of Parliament (MP), Saiku Andrews, during day three of the consideration of budget estimates and expenditures.

The opposition MP had questioned why was there a zero allocation for the Berbice Bridge now that there is a toll-free crossing.

Minister Edghill in his response reminded that since the announcement of the toll-free crossing at the Demerara, Wismar – McKenzie and Berbice Bridges as of August 01, 2025, the government had to absorb that cost to ensure that the bridges continue to operate and the staff paid.

“In last year’s allocation there were monies that were appropriated to take care of that activity and as a result those bridges were compensated based upon their monthly operational expenses in a formula that was worked out,” he said.

The minister stated that while there is no allocation for the bridge under subsidies, he indicated that monies could be under a different line item in the estimates.

Noticing that there is a significant increase in the allocation for maintenance of bridges which moved from $175 million in 2025 to $1,342,381,000 in 2026, the APNU member further questioned, “Can the honourable member confirm or say, what is the major bridge that has allowed this sum to climb to this amount for maintenance purposes?”

The minister in his explanation stated that under this line item, monies have been appropriated for the payment of the tolls for the three bridges and for operational expenses.

As it relates to the Berbice Bridge he explained “We have to pay the tolls up to a particular time by which we hope all the necessary negotiations will be completed and it becomes the property of the Government of Guyana – Ministry of Public Works and the ministry would have to maintain everything at the Berbice River Bridge as well, that is why we have this sum here.”

Following up on the minister’s response, Andrews further asked, “Can the minister say how far along are these negotiations for us to acquire this asset, and in acquiring this asset, what is the ballpark figure we expect because the contractual agreement is supposed to come to an end in 2027? So, if we are going to negotiate to own this asset, what is the ballpark figure that we anticipate we are willing to pay one year in advance for this asset?”

The minister clarified that the reason the money is under maintenance of bridges is because it will not be handed to a company, and that the money will be with the ministry which will have to operate the bridge.

The public works minister continued, “…the Berbice Bridge and I don’t want to use this opportunity to make an announcement, I want to inform the house that the Government of Guyana is on its way to finalising all the I’s and crossing the T’s for the ownership of the Berbice River Bridge and based upon the figures I have been looking at, what it will be costing the treasury for the acquisition of the bridge would be less than if we have to pay toll between now and next year, based upon the figures I’m looking at.”

Back in October 2022, when President Irfaan Ali announced plans for a new Berbice River Bridge, he said at the time, “we are in the process of discussing with the Berbice Bridge Corporation the possible acquisition of that bridge by the government.”  If the acquisition is not finalised by the time the new Demerara River Bridge is operational, the Berbice River Bridge crossing will also become toll-free simultaneously.

Moreover, the current Berbice River Bridge, which was constructed between 2006 and 2008 at a cost of $8 billion, received financial backing through loans and equity contributions from various entities, including the state-run National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and private investors.

The bulk of the money invested in the Berbice Bridge came from NIS. Sharing ownership percentages in the Berbice Bridge Inc. (BBCI): National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd (NICIL) holds 10 per cent, NIS owns 20.2 per cent, and other stakeholders include Hand-in-Hand Fire Insurance (10 per cent), New GPC (20 per cent), Queens Atlantic Investment Inc. (20 per cent), and Secure International Finance Co. Limited (20 per cent).

On Wednesday the committee of supply approved the sum of $227,201,792,000 for the public works ministry.

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• Berbice Bridge, Juan Edghill, NICIL, Saiku Andrews

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