Multi-billion Heroes Highway crumbling two years after commissioning

Feb 23, 2026 News

---

Kaieteur News – Sections of the Heroes Highway along the East Bank of Demerara are crumbling, owing to the use of substandard materials by the private contractor, Opposition Leader, Azruddin Mohamed has said.

The businessman turned politician shared a video of his visit to at least two different sections of the four-lane thoroughfare which appeared to have been excavated to undergo repairs.

In remarks, Mohamed told his followers, “I’m on the Heroes Highway, the concussion highway, and as you can see, look what is going on here presently. This highway was recently built- tens of billions of dollars and this shouldn’t have happened in such a short period of time and I want you to be the judge. Let’s look at the materials used to build this highway.”

He pointed to the size of British Reinforced Concrete (BRC) used to construct the structure, which measured just about a quarter of his index finger in width. The grid-like mesh is used to increase strength and durability, improving the overall structural integrity of concrete.

Given the substandard material, the opposition leader argued that billions in taxpayers’ dollars will be flushed, as remaining portions of the Highway is likely to follow suit shortly.

“This entire highway will crumble and fall apart once this has been used throughout the highway. You don’t use this type of BRC when building these highways,” he said.

The leader of the opposition accused the administration of turning a blind eye to the state and quality of infrastructure projects being built across the country, as the same materials continue to be used to fatten the pockets of contractors.

Mohamed moved to another portion of the highway, just about 300 meters from a section that was cordoned off to facilitate repairs. This time, workers were present at the location while an unbothered Mohamed continued to highlight the condition of the road. He insisted, “It will crumble and fall apart using things like this, look at the size. Once this is right through the concussion highway, this will continue happening…so more money will be spent. More of taxpayers’ dollars.”

Back in December 2023, President Irfaan Ali commissioned the $13.3 billion or US$65 million four-lane road.

The highway serves as a crucial link, connecting villages along the East Bank from Diamond to Georgetown. It was named in honour of the five fallen soldiers who died in a helicopter crash, only days before.

Guyanese and those in the political opposition have long blasted the government for its disproportionate investment in infrastructure while majority of the population continues to live in poverty.

In this year’s $1.558 trillion budget, the Ministry of Public Works have been allocated the largest chunk of resources, with a total of $227.2 billion for its work programme.

Waste of money

In an invited comment, an independent source with engineering background told Kaieteur News that the failures being observed along the highway will continue throughout the structure.

According to the source, “There was no geotechnical studies conducted beforehand- meaning all they did was dig, sand-filled and poured concrete…the problem is not the concrete but more than poor subsurface preparation.”

The source said using billions more to “try” to correct the road through resurfacing will simply not work but is purely a “waste of money”. He warned, “We now have to pay billions to correct it and unless we dig and start again, it will be like the East Bank road- always needing repairs.”

Efforts to contact Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal were unsuccessful. The project was being managed by that institution.

In 2021, the contract was awarded to 12 contractors, GuyAmerica Construction Inc, V. Dalip Enterprise, (JV) Colin Talbot Contracting Services and Eron Lall Civil Engineering Works, S. Jagmohan Construction and General Supplies Inc., H. Nauth and Sons, JS Guyana Inc., (JV) VALs Construction and AJM Enterprise, China Railway First Group Company Ltd., Aronco Services Inc., Ivor Allen, (JV) Puran Brothers Disposal Inc. and Khemraj Nauth Contracting Services.

The contractors had 18 months to finish the project which included the construction of some 30 reinforced concrete bridges, two roundabouts, and a total of 9.4 kilometres of reinforced concrete road.

Resurfacing

Earlier this month, Kaieteur News reported that the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CH&PA) received 19 proposals from local and overseas contractors for the execution of asphaltic overlay works on the Heroes Highway.

The announcement of resurfacing the road came shortly after criticisms from United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Following a visit to Guyana in March 2025, Rubio made reference to the bumpy nature of one of the roads he was driven on, noting that “we almost had concussions.”

 

---

• crumbling, Heroes Highway', materials, Opposition Leader, Road, Waste

---